Department for Transport

Department for Transport: Contracts

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which service providers are contracted to carry out third party cleaning contracts for his (a) Department and (b) executive agencies; if he will list all of the services delivered by third party contractors to his (i) Department and (ii) executive agencies; and how many people working for those third party contractors are paid less than the Living Wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.

Jesse Norman: Third party cleaning contracts are undertaken by Interserve FM for the central Department for Transport (DfT(C)), Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA), Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) and Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA). The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) third party cleaning contract is undertaken by Sodexo Ltd as part of a Private Finance Initiative Agreement with Telereal Trillium. The central Department for Transport, MCA, DVSA, VCA and DVLA all utilise fully encompassing Total Facilities Management contracts which can provide the following services: -Cleaning;Catering;Security;Reception;Grounds Maintenance;Planned Maintenance;Reactive Maintenance;Porterage;Reprographics andPost Room. Neither the central Department nor its executive agencies hold information on the earnings of outsourced workers. However, the Department for Transport Total Facilities Management contract with Interserve FM requires all staff employed by the service provider to be paid at least the National Living Wage. DVLA believe, following contact with Telereal Trillium, that no staff working on their contract receive below the National Living Wage.

Railways: Standards

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January to Question 208287, what figure of miles per train incident he will use to measure the performance of new trains as they are introduced onto the rail network between 2019 and 2021.

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport,pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2019 to Question 208287, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of Network Rail’s investment and planning with respect to (a) signalling, (b) platforms and (c) power supply in order to facilitate the introduction of the new trains due onto the rail network between 2019 and 2021.

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2019 to Question 208287, what target for public performance measure he will use to determine the performance of new trains as they are introduced onto the rail network between 2019 and 2021.

Andrew Jones: This is an exciting time for the rail industry and for passengers, with new fleets of trains being introduced which will help deliver a step-change in customer service. The performance of trains is one factor affecting the overall network performance. Both the Department and operators consider these factors as part of the franchise competition process. Operators then have obligations to deliver performance in line with their franchise commitments; no separate target is set in respect of train performance.

Railways: Standards

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2019 to Question 208287, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of train operating company training and planning with respect to (a) traincrew and (b) depots in order to facilitate the introduction of the new trains due onto the rail network between 2019 and 2021.

Andrew Jones: The Department evaluates the deliverability of traincrew and depots strategies as part of the franchise competition process. It is then the responsibility of train operating companies to deliver those strategies to facilitate the introduction of new trains in line with their contractual commitments.

Railways: Standards

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2019 to Question 208287, what plans he has to ensure (a) train operators and (b) Network Rail take the necessary steps to inform rail passengers about (i) different carriage layouts and (ii) door configurations (iii) platform embarkation/disembarkation points prior to the introduction of new trains due onto the rail network between 2019 and 2021.

Andrew Jones: This is a matter for train operators and Network Rail who are best placed to understand the needs of passengers and what information should be provided in respect of the introduction of new rolling stock.

Railways: Tickets

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2019 to Question 208287, how many of the 11 train operating companies with routes into London offer (a) season tickets on smartcards, (b) flexible season ticket and (c) single leg ticketing.

Andrew Jones: (a) Of the franchised train operating companies with routes into London, eight offer season tickets on smartcards. One currently plans to offer season tickets on smartcards later this year. Two others are willing to accept season tickets on smartcards that have been issued by other ToCs.  (b) All new franchisees are required through their franchise agreements to offer a product or products in addition to existing season tickets, that give customers who travel less than 5 days a week a better value-for-money option than buying multiple return journeys.Seven franchised train operating companies with routes into London offer flexible season tickets. Open access train operating companies with routes into London offer market-based pricing and ticketing schemes, however the Department does not hold data on the details of these.  (c) The Department also does not currently hold data regarding the use of single leg ticketing by train operating companies with routes into London.

Road Traffic Offences: Cameras

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his policy is on the future roll-out of yellow vulture cameras that catch drivers speeding, using their mobile phone, eating or not wearing a seatbelt.

Jesse Norman: These cameras only function to detect speeding offences. The Government has no current plans to change the scope.

Railways

Robert Courts: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of the disused national rail network remains in the ownership of Network Rail.

Andrew Jones: Highways England is now responsible for the vast majority of the historic railways estate. This includes legacy bridges, abutments, tunnels, cuttings, viaducts and similar properties associated with closed railway lines, and sales. Network Rail is still responsible for a small proportion of disused railway lines which have been retained due to their close proximity or connection to currently operational railway lines. Network Rail’s records however do not distinguish between disused and operational railway lines, and therefore it is not possible to precisely indicate how much disused network they own.

Cycling: Safety

John Lamont: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve cycle safety on roads.

Jesse Norman: The Government is focused on making cycling and walking safer and easier, and to that end the Department for Transport undertook a major cycling and walking safety review in 2018. Following an extensive public consultation, the Department published its full response and a detailed two year action plan on 22 November 2018, which is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/governments-response-to-the-cycling-walking-investment-strategy-safety-review

Rolling Stock

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish any guidelines his Department has produced for rolling stock companies on re-purposing displaced rolling stock.

Andrew Jones: The Department does not intend to publish any guidelines. Rolling stock is generally privately owned and it is a matter for the owners to determine the future opportunities for their assets once they are no longer in passenger service.

Trains

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of trains are (a) wholly re-purposed, (b) partially re-purposed and (c) scrapped in each of the last three years.

Andrew Jones: The Department does not hold this information. Rolling stock is generally privately owned and it is a matter for the owners to determine the future opportunities for their assets once they are no longer in passenger service.

Railways: Standards

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve the level of customer satisfaction in rail companies.

Andrew Jones: Passenger satisfaction is an absolute priority for the Department. We have introduced new measures on compensation, an independent rail ombudsman and commissioned an independent root and branch review of the railway. A £48 billion investment will help to modernise the network and deliver significant improvements in performance, punctuality and increase capacity of trains across the country. We have also made significant improvements to our franchise incentives to ensure operators deliver a consistently high-quality experience for passengers, by including challenging customer satisfaction targets in Franchise Agreements which require operators to deliver increases in satisfaction across a range of key measures.

Roads: Barnsley

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much highway maintenance block funding has been allocated to Barnsley in each year since 2010.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much highway maintenance block funding has been allocated to South Yorkshire in each year since 2010.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much of the pothole fund has been allocated to South Yorkshire in each year since 2010.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much of the pothole fund has been allocated to Barnsley in each year since 2010.

Jesse Norman: Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council is a constituent member of the Sheffield City Region Combined Authority. Since 2015 highway maintenance block funding has been paid directly to Sheffield City Region Combined Authority.   The funding provided by the Department for Transport for highway maintenance, including pothole repair, to Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council and the Sheffield City Region Combined Authority since 2010 is shown in the table below.YearFunding Stream £mBarnsleySheffield City Region2010/11Highways Maintenance Block 17.333June 2010Severe Weather0.330 March 2011Severe Weather0.788 2011/12Highways Maintenance Block 15.9322012/13 *Highways Maintenance Block 12.3942013/14Highways Maintenance Block (including top up) 11.075March 2014Wet Weather0.606 2014/15Highways Maintenance Block (including top up) 10.0822014/15Pothole Fund0.503 2015/16Highways Maintenance Block 12.5682016/17Highways Maintenance Block (including incentive element) 12.2262016/17Pothole Action Fund0.218 2017//18Highways Maintenance Block (including incentive element) 12.2482017/18Pothole Action Fund 1.6602017/18Flood Resilience Fund 0.6652018/19Highways Maintenance Block (including incentive element) 11.7912018/19Pothole Action Fund 0.7002018/19Budget £420 million1.683 Total 4.128118.674Note: In August 2012 Sheffield City Council entered into a 25-year Highway Maintenance Private Finance Initiative. The Department provides Sheffield City Council with a fixed payment of £47.664 million per annum to fund the contract, and in consequence the Council is no longer eligible for separate highway maintenance funding.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Retail Trade: Urban Areas

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent steps his Department has taken to support high street retailers.

Kelly Tolhurst: Government is clear that we want all types of retail to thrive now and in the future, and to support the sector as it responds to change. This is why we established the industry led Retail Sector Council to bring Government and industry together to help the sector address key sector issues and define its future strategy.The council is due to meet next in February. The Council is prioritising its work to address the key challenges facing the sector and will initially focus on; costs to business, skills and lifelong learning, employment protection, consumer protection, the circular economy and the Industrial Strategy. The priority areas were selected by the industry and each workstream will be led by a senior industry figure.Furthermore, at Autumn Budget, Government launched the £675m Future High Streets Fund, which will help local leaders to transform their town centres and make them fit for the future. The prospectus for the Fund was published in December and invites high streets and town centres to come forward with Expressions of Interest by March 22nd 2019.Local leaders will be further supported by the High Streets Task Force, which will be established in 2019 and will provide hands-on support to local areas to develop data-driven innovative strategies and connect local areas to relevant experts.In addition, from April 2019, the Government is cutting the business rates bills of eligible small retailers by one third for two years, worth almost £900m in reduced bills.

Industry

Kirstene Hair: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the industrial strategy supports (a) manufacturers of agricultural machinery, (b) textiles and (c) small-scale engineering.

Richard Harrington: The Government’s Industrial Strategy supports manufacturing across many sectors in a number of ways through business support, skills and R&D.Through Business Support:The Government has undertaken a business productivity review and is currently looking at how to improve manufacturing processes with 3000 industries in the North West in the Pilot for Made Smarter. The learnings from this pilot, and the conclusions of the review will benefit industry in the future.We are making sure small businesses across all sectors including agricultural machinery, textiles and engineering, can find the information they need on their finance options and additional support in information and guidance:The British Business Bank publishes (in partnership with industry) the Business Finance Guide, which also has an interactive online version.The Business Support Helpline and the network of 38 Growth Hubs also provide advice and signpost businesses to sources of information and guidance. We would encourage the industries to take advantage of this resource.78,000 SMEs have been supported in various way by the British Business Bank. The Small Business Commissioner helps with payment issues, dispute resolution and sourcing advice across the UK.Through developing Skills:The Government has developed a wide range of manufacturing apprenticeships. There are now specific apprenticeships for textile manufacturing, at both intermediate and advanced levels and a significant number of engineering apprenticeships across a range of sectors.The Government has introduced the apprenticeship levy across the UK to encourage sustained employer investment in high quality apprenticeships. By 2020 the total annual apprenticeship investment in England will be almost £2.45bn (in 2019/20); double what was spent in 2010-11. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will receive £460m, as their fair share of the apprenticeship levy, in 2019/20. This will allow businesses to develop workforces that have the skills they need for the future.Through supporting R&D:The Government has increased the rate of R&D tax credit to 12% to encourage businesses to invest in the future and as a step towards meeting the 2.4% target. As we try to put the UK at the forefront of advanced sustainable agriculture, this tax credit will provide opportunities for both manufacturers of agricultural machinery and small-scale engineering firms to invest in innovation.We are open to having discussions with all sectors of business and industry to discuss how we can support them and would welcome the engagement from manufacturers of agricultural machinery, textile industry and small-scale engineering firms.

Mash Holdings: Company Accounts

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason Companies House have not taken action in relation to late submitting of statutorily required accounts by MASH holdings limited Company Number 06861426.

Kelly Tolhurst: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Post Offices

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many main post offices opened between (a) April 2016 and March 2017 and (b) April 2017 to March 2018.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010. While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. The management of the post office network is an operational matter for the Post Office. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the Group Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon Member on this matter. A copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Post Offices

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will take steps to increase the number of main post offices; and what plans his Department has to undertake a consultation of post office service provision.

Kelly Tolhurst: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Contracts

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which service providers are contracted to carry out third party cleaning contracts for his (a) Department and (b) executive agencies; if he will list all of the services delivered by third party contractors to his (i) Department and (ii) executive agencies; and how many people working for those third party contractors are paid less than the Living Wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.

Alistair Burt: Interserve are contracted to deliver all cleaning services within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). All staff in London are paid the London Living Wage (£10.20). Cleaning staff outside London are paid the National Living Wage (£7.83)​. No staff employed by Interserve on the FCO contract are paid less than the National Living Wage.Information is not readily available for all of the services delivered by third party contracts across the FCO as data is not held centrally for all contracts. Where information is held centrally, there is no record of which contracts relate solely to services. To determine this would incur disproportionate cost.Information relating to FCO Executive Agencies is not held centrally and therefore not readily available. To determine information would incur disproportionate cost

Ali Hajji and Naji Fateel

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2018 to Question 192801 and with reference to the oversight bodies’ reported failure to address the case, what action he will take to ensure that Bahraini political prisoners Ali AlHajee and Naji Fateel, who are entering the 68th day of their hunger strike, have immediate access to medical care.

Alistair Burt: As the Honourable Gentleman will know from previous answers in this House and the other place, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the British Embassy in Manama are aware of, and have raised, the cases of Ali Al Hajee and Naji Fateel at a senior level and continue to monitor them.The Government of Bahrain have been clear in public statements that access to medical care for those in detention is guaranteed by the Constitution of Bahrain. We encourage those with concerns about treatment in detention to report them to the appropriate Bahraini human rights oversight body. We continue to encourage these oversight bodies to carry out swift and thorough investigations into any such allegations.

UN Human Rights Council

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will list his Department's priorities for the United Nations Human Rights Council session in March 2019.

Mark Field: ​The Government's priority for all sessions of the UN Human Rights Council is to ensure that it holds those responsible for human rights violations and abuses to account, effectively addresses global threats to human rights, and strengthens protections for the future. At the 40th session, we envisage specific priorities will include the human rights situation in Syria, Sri Lanka, Burma, Iran, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Libya and South Sudan, and thematic priorities of media freedom, human rights defenders, and freedom of religion or belief.

Israel: Malaysia

Douglas Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Malaysian Government on the Malaysian Prime Minister's (a) comments on the State of Israel of the Jewish people and (b) decision to ban Israeli swimmers from participating in sporting events in that country; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Field: We are aware of comments made by the Malaysian Prime Minister on the State of Israel and the Jewish people. The UK fully supports the modern State of Israel as a Jewish homeland and remain committed to the objective of sovereign and prosperous Palestinian state.We do not agree with Malaysian Government's position on the banning of Israeli athletes. We believe it is fundamentally wrong. Israeli athletes should not be banned from competing. The UK government strongly supports the principle of inclusiveness of the Olympic movement.We consider it right that the recent International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has decided to strip Malaysia of the right to host the tournament. The Championships must be open to all eligible athletes and nations to compete safely and free from discrimination. The committee is now seeking to find a new venue for the event.I raised our concerns with the Malaysian Minister for Education, Dr Maszlee bin Malik on the 22 January. The British High Commissioner in Kuala Lumpur has done likewise with the Malaysian Foreign Minister. We will continue to raise our strong objection with the Malaysian authorities.

North Africa: Christianity

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has received on the persecution of Christians in North Africa; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign Secretary and Lord Ahmad have had a number of recent engagements with religious leaders, interested organisations and parliamentarians on the question of the persecution of Christians around the world, including in the Middle East and North Africa. The Foreign Secretary has requested that the Bishop of Truro leads a review of British Government support for persecuted Christians. I regularly raise the issues being faced by Christians and other religious minorities during my meetings with governments in the Middle East and North Africa. The UK remains committed to supporting the fundamental human right of all persons to practice, change or share their faith or belief without discrimination or violent opposition.

Iraq: Religious Freedom

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the level of religious freedom in Iraq; and what steps the Government is taking to promote and protect the right to freedom of religion or belief in that country.

Alistair Burt: The UK remains concerned by continued issues related to religious freedom in Iraq but welcomes signs that Iraq's new leadership is actively promoting respect for religious minorities. For example, the Vatican Secretary of State made an official visit to Iraq in December, and the Iraqi Prime Minister's new Cabinet declared Christmas Day an official holiday for all Iraqis, not just Christians.The UK is committed to promoting and protecting the right to freedom of religion or belief across Iraq. We regularly underline this to Iraqi political leaders, emphasising that this right is critical to building an inclusive, stable and tolerant country. Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon reinforced this message with the new Iraqi Foreign Minister Al-Hakim in December 2018. As part of our efforts, we are also funding a project to pilot a new curriculum on freedom of religion or belief in secondary schools in Iraq.

Sudan: Politics and Government

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the political, security and humanitarian situation in Sudan.

Harriett Baldwin: British Government officials at all levels regularly engage with EU counterparts in Khartoum and across our diplomatic network to discuss international policy in regard to Sudan. At the Foreign Affairs Council in November, EU members discussed the political, economic, security and humanitarian situation in Sudan and collectively urged the Government to adopt political and economic reforms and guarantee unhindered humanitarian access to those in need of support. Most recently UK engagement with EU counterparts in Khartoum and elsewhere has focused on our shared concern at the Government of Sudan response to protests.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Staff

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the corrected Answer of 22 January 2019 to Question 206251, how many civil servants in his Department were working part or full-time on projects in the Government Major Projects Portfolio in (a) June 2016 and (b) December 2018.

Alistair Burt: The number of full-time equivalent staff working on projects in the Government Major Projects Portfolio was 11.8 in June 2016 and 18.1 in December 2018.

Turkey: Political Prisoners

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Turkish counterpart on the lack of access to legal representation for political prisoners in that country.

Sir Alan Duncan: The State of Emergency following the failed coup attempt in 2016 imposed certain limits on access to lawyers but those were lifted in June 2018. In discussions with Turkish Ministers we have stressed the importance of addressing issues in the legal system and accelerating the resolution of political cases.

Turkey: Political Prisoners

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the number of political prisoners on hunger strike in Turkey.

Sir Alan Duncan: The People's Democratic Party (HDP) have stated that there are around 240 prisoners currently on hunger strike.

Leyla Guven and Abdullah Ocalan

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has raised the cases of Leyla Guven MP and Abdullah Ocalan with (a) the Turkish Government and (b) his European counterparts.

Sir Alan Duncan: Our Embassy in Ankara raised concerns over the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) hunger strikers, including Leyla Guven, and the prison conditions of Abdullah Ocalan in discussions with Turkish officials in mid-January. We note that Leyla Guven was released from custody on 25 January. We regularly discuss such issues with European and other like-minded partners.

Indigenous Peoples: Human Rights

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking with his international counterparts to help safeguard the human rights and security of indigenous peoples overseas.

Mark Field: ​The Government remains strongly committed to promoting the respect for the human rights of all people, including indigenous people. We continue to work overseas and through the UN to improve the situation of indigenous people around the world. The UK has supported the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the EU's Foreign Affairs Council conclusions on indigenous peoples.

Omar Shakir

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, further to the Answer of 5 June 2018 to Question HL8092, if he will make further representations to the Israeli authorities the concerns of the UK government regarding the threatened deportation of Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine Director, Human Rights Watch.

Alistair Burt: It is ultimately up to Israel to determine its immigration policy. The UK's immigration policy is similarly protected. We last made representations to the Israeli authorities on this issue in May 2018.​

Libya: Prisons

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights on alleged human rights abuses in Libyan prisons.

Alistair Burt: ​We are concerned by reports of alleged human rights abuses in Libyan prisons, including the particular issues faced by female prisoners. The UK is working to address the dire human rights situation in Libya through a comprehensive approach, including by giving our full support to the UN-led political process. Stabilising the country will have the greatest positive impact on the human rights situation in Libya. On my last visit to Libya, I underlined our concerns about the human rights situation. Most recently, the Minister responsible for human rights, Lord Ahmad, has discussed efforts to combat human rights abuses with key partners, including the UN Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General.

Libya: UN Human Commissioner for Refugees

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support it is providing to UNHCR for its work in Libya.

Alistair Burt: The UK continues to provide humanitarian assistance through a number of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and UN agencies in Libya. UK funding, via the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, supports a range of UN High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR) efforts to assist migrants within Libya and with the evacuation of refugees for resettlement.

Uganda: Elections

Dr Paul Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister for Africa, of 8 January 2019, Official Report, column 117WH, what (a) analysis and (b) evaluation his department has completed of the UK’s work with the international community to support the electoral environment in Uganda during the 2016 presidential election.

Harriett Baldwin: The majority of UK funding in support of the electoral environment in Uganda in 2016 was channelled through the multi-donor Democratic Governance Facility (DGF). The DGF provided support to work covering voter education, training for women and youth political candidates, media training for journalists, inter-party dialogue, election monitoring and support to the electoral commission. Our funding helped promote the discussion and adoption of meaningful electoral reforms; improvements in citizen participation and engagement in the electoral process; and the identification and mitigation of risks of violence related to the electoral process. Evaluations carried out across each of these strands found evidence of significant positive impact and will be used to inform future programmatic and project support.

Uganda: Elections

Dr Paul Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister for Africa, of 8 January 2019, Official Report, column 117WH, what steps he is taking to support the electoral environment in Uganda at the next presidential election.

Harriett Baldwin: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development in Kampala are currently working alongside international partners to identify how best to support the electoral environment up to and including the next election in 2021. We are using the Ugandan Electoral Commission's recently launched 'election road map' to help assess how best to target UK support.Since 2014, the UK has provided £30 million of programmatic to strengthen institutions in Uganda to uphold democratic freedoms and advocate for the equal treatment of all Ugandans according to the terms of the Ugandan Constitution and laws.

Uganda: Entertainments and Music

Dr Paul Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Ugandan counterpart on the Ugandan Government’s proposals to regulate the music and entertainment industry by requiring artists to submit (a) lyrics for songs and (b) scripts for film and stage performances for approval.

Harriett Baldwin: We are aware of the proposed regulations to the Ugandan music and entertainment industry that are currently being consulted on and are yet to be approved by the Cabinet. The UK's position is that such regulations must not be used as a means of censorship. The UK supports freedom of expression as a fundamental human right and, alongside freedom of the media, maintains that it is an essential quality of any functioning democracy. We continue to raise any concerns around civic and political issues directly with the Ugandan government.

Tashi Wangchuk

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made since the UN Universal Periodic Review in November 2018 on the release of Tibetan human rights defender Tashi Wangchuk.

Mark Field: We remain concerned at the handling of the case of Tibetan language advocate Tashi Wangchuk; his case raises serious concerns about due process and transparency of justice in China. A UK diplomat attempted to attend his trial in January 2018 and the FCO issued a tweet following his sentencing. We most recently raised his case during China’s Universal Periodic Review in November 2018.​

Jamal Khashoggi

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has held with his Turkish counterpart on investigations into the disappearance and death of Jamal Khashoggi.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​The Foreign Secretary has had a number of conversations (since Mr Khashoggi's death) with our Turkish counterparts. In addition, both the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister have raised the issue with the Saudi authorities, including King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. The UK strongly supports the Turkish investigation into the incident and has been urging Saudi Arabia to cooperate fully. We have stressed the importance of ensuring that those responsible are held to account, and that Saudi Arabia takes action to build confidence that such a deplorable incident could not happen again. We will continue to engage with Turkey and Saudi Arabia until the investigation reaches a conclusion.

Priyanka Fernando

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department have received from the Government of Sri Lanka on the arrest warrant issued for Brigadier Priyanka Fernando; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Field: We were deeply concerned by the well-publicised incident involving the Sri Lankan Defence Attaché last year and made immediate representations to the Sri Lankan Government. I spoke to Foreign Minister Marapana on 8 February 2018 about the matter to raise my concerns. The Defence Attaché was recalled by his Government soon after.The FCO, which is not a party to the legal proceedings referred to, has been contacted by Westminster Magistrate's Court seeking clarification of the Brigadier's diplomatic status in the UK at the time of the incident. The FCO is providing documentation to assist the court.The UK is committed to upholding the rule of law including the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.The British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka met the Permanent Secretary of the Sri Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 24 January, at the Permanent Secretary's request. At this meeting the Permanent Secretary communicated his government's view that the Brigadier enjoyed diplomatic immunity at the time of the incident, and requested that the High Commissioner communicate this view back to the FCO in London.

Priyanka Fernando

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the British High Commissioner in Sri Lanka has made to the Government of that country on the conduct of Brigadier Priyanka Fernando in the UK since a warrant for the arrest of the Brigadier was issued; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Field: We were deeply concerned by the well-publicised incident involving the Sri Lankan Defence Attaché last year and made immediate representations to the Sri Lankan Government. I spoke to Foreign Minister Marapana on 8 February 2018 about the matter to raise my concerns. The Defence Attaché was recalled by his Government soon after.The FCO, which is not a party to the legal proceedings referred to, has been contacted by Westminster Magistrate's Court seeking clarification of the Brigadier's diplomatic status in the UK at the time of the incident. The FCO is providing documentation to assist the court.The UK is committed to upholding the rule of law including the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.The British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka met the Permanent Secretary of the Sri Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 24 January, at the Permanent Secretary's request. At this meeting the Permanent Secretary communicated his government's view that the Brigadier enjoyed diplomatic immunity at the time of the incident, and requested that the High Commissioner communicate this view back to the FCO in London.

Colombia: Peace Negotiations

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps he is taking to support the peace process in Colombia since the recent attacks by ELN militants in Bogota.

Sir Alan Duncan: The UK swiftly condemned the recent car bomb attack in Bogotá and offered condolences to the families of the victims, including via a UK-drafted statement by the United Nations Security Council. We continue to offer our unwavering support to the Colombian authorities as they seek to ensure sustainable peace in Colombia. In the week following the attack, the UK used its position as pen-holder at the UN on the Colombian peace process to reiterate our support for the implementation of the Peace Agreement. We also called for the protection of Human Rights Defenders and greater coordination between Colombia's state institutions in former conflict areas. Karen Pierce, the UK's Permanent Representative to the UN, met Colombian Foreign Minister Holmes Trujillo to pledge our continued support for the FARC Peace Agreement and to discuss the way forward regarding the ELN in the wake of the 17 January attack.I was in New York last weekend for a Security Council meeting on the ongoing crisis in Venezuela - I also used this opportunity to discuss Colombia's peace process with Mr Holmes Trujillo.The UK continues to provide extensive support to Colombia's peace process: this was reaffirmed by my December 2018 announcement of an additional £5m in funding provided through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF). This brought our contribution to Colombia's peace process to over £39m since 2015. The CSSF funds numerous programmes in Colombia to reintegrate former combatants and stabilise former conflict areas.

Attorney General

Attorney General: Contracts

Frank Field: To ask the Attorney General, which service providers are contracted to carry out third party cleaning contracts for his (a) Department and (b) executive agencies; if he will list all of the services delivered by third party contractors to his (i) Department and (ii) executive agencies; and how many people working for those third party contractors are paid less than the Living Wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.

Robert Buckland: The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) does not hold third party cleaning contracts. Cleaning services for the AGO are provided by Ministry of Justice contractors and the buildings’ landlords. The Attorney General’s Office holds no information on rates of pay for third party contractors. Specific rates of pay are a matter for each individual contractor.The Government Legal Department (GLD) contracts with two service providers for the provision of its cleaning services; Mitie Cleaning Services for its offices at One Kemble Street (London) and Sussex Cleaning Services for Southern House (Croydon). GLD requires its contracted cleaning providers to pay the London living wage to all of their staff. HMCPSI staff located within One Kemble Street are covered by the same cleaning provision.The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not hold third party cleaning contracts. The majority of buildings on the CPS estate are managed and maintained by the Ministry of Justice. Cleaning services are either provided by Ministry of Justice contractors or the buildings’ landlords. The CPS holds no information on rates of pay for third party contractors. Specific rates of pay are a matter for each individual contractor.The Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO) cleaning services are contracted out to Julius Rutherford & Co Ltd who pay the London Living Wage to all of the staff providing cleaning services to the SFO.A list of all services delivered by third party contractors to the Department is not held in a centralised location, the information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Attorney General: Staff

Jon Trickett: To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the corrected Answer of 22 January 2019 to Question 206251, how many civil servants in his Department were working part or full-time on projects in the Government Major Projects Portfolio in (a) June 2016 and (b) December 2018.

Robert Buckland: The Attorney General’s Office had no civil servants working part or full time on projects in the Government Major Projects Portfolio in June 2016 or December 2018.

Department of Health and Social Care

Compulsorily Detained Psychiatric Patients

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Mental Health Act 1983 in protecting the rights of people detained under that Act.

Jackie Doyle-Price: It is the role of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to look at how health services in England are applying the Mental Health Act 1983 to make sure that patients’ human rights are being protected. As well as its regular inspections of services, the CQC publishes an annual report, monitoring the Mental Health Act, which summarises its findings on how the Act is being delivered. The latest report for 2016/17, which includes a chapter on protecting patients’ rights and autonomy, is available at the following link: https://www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/20190108_mhareport2017_amend_1.pdf The Government commissioned a review of the Mental Health Act as we want to ensure that people with mental health problems receive the treatment and support they need when they need it, are treated with dignity, and that their liberty and autonomy is respected as far as possible. The independent Review of the Mental Health Act published its final report on 6 December 2018. The Government has welcomed the report and will consider it and its recommendations in detail before responding in due course. We remain committed to reforming mental health law and will develop and bring forward legislation when Parliamentary time allows.

NHS: Standards

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of whether the NHS will meet its core statutory access targets within the next three years.

Stephen Hammond: NHS England’s ‘Operational and Planning Guidance for 2019/20’ sets out deliverables against key performance areas and the Government expects the National Health Service to deliver these actions set – in full – as key steps towards fully recovering performance against core access standards. NHS England is also carrying out a clinical review of standards, which is due to report in the spring. This review will help to ensure that the NHS is focused on the right targets - for both physical and mental health - which incentivise the best care and outcomes for patients, and have the broad support of our health professionals. The Long Term Plan, launched by the NHS on 7 January 2018, will transform patient care and make sure every penny of taxpayers’ money is spent wisely. This is supported by the Government’s investment of £20.5 billion a year in real terms by 2023/24. The additional funding will allow the NHS to get back on the path to delivering core performance standards. In spring, the NHS will publish an implementation framework for the Long Term Plan which will enable local systems to translate the Long Term Plan commitments into deliverable strategic plans. This will be followed by a final implementation and workforce plan in late 2019. The Department will monitor delivery against the plan and hold the NHS to account

Maternity Services: Foreign Nationals

Dame Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what records his Department holds on the number of women who have been deterred from seeking NHS maternity care as a result of charging under the National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015, as amended.

Stephen Hammond: The Department does not hold data on the number of women who have been deterred from seeking National Health Service maternity care. National guidance is clear that NHS maternity treatment should always be considered as immediately necessary and provided to all patients regardless of whether or not they are entitled to receive it free of charge or there are doubts about whether they could pay if subsequently found to be chargeable under the National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015, as amended.

Children: Communication Skills

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has for Public Health England to promote the importance of children’s speech, language and communication skills to educational providers.

Caroline Dinenage: Public Health England (PHE) is working in partnership with the Department for Education as part of the Social Mobility Action Plan for Education, ‘Unlocking Talent, Fulfilling Potential’ to improve early language acquisition and reduce the word gap. As part of this programme PHE will deliver training for health visitors on speech, language and communication needs. In addition, an early language assessment tool to support clinical decision making and improve early identification of children with speech and language delay at the two year universal health review is in development and will be available in spring 2020. A model speech language and communication pathway for services for children aged zero to five built on the best evidence and experience of implementation in practice will be available by June 2019. This will encourage joint commissioning and service provision.

Bees and Nuts: Allergies

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his is taking to raise public awareness of the risk of (a) peanut and (b) bee sting allergies in the UK.

Steve Brine: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) works closely with allergy patient groups and the media to raise public awareness of the risk of peanut and other food allergies. In September 2018 the FSA ran a month-long awareness campaign targeted at 16-24-year-old consumers to encourage more dialogue between consumers and food businesses. This campaign used a variety of communication channels, including social media. Another awareness raising campaign is planned for February 2019. The FSA also publishes a range of guidance, information and learning packs on food allergy issues for both those with food allergies and food businesses. FSA funded research is also made available to the public via the FSA website and scientific literature. This includes the highly-cited Learning Early About Peanut allergy study that looked at the introduction of peanut into the infant diet. Raising awareness of bee sting allergies is led by health visitors and school nurses who can sign post to appropriate resources.

Social Services

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 7 January  2019 to Question 203761, if he will define when the earliest opportunity is to publish the Social Care Green Paper.

Caroline Dinenage: The Social Care Green Paper remains a priority for this Government. The Department is working hard to publish a Green Paper setting out proposals for reform at the earliest opportunity. Unfortunately we cannot currently confirm a publication date.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Rebecca Pow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which of NHS England’s 25 trailblazer areas on transforming children and young people’s mental health include speech and language therapists.

Jackie Doyle-Price: All 25 trailblazer sites will have new Mental Health Support Teams working in and near schools and colleges to support children and young people with mild to moderate mental health conditions. Mental Health Support Teams will work in an integrated way with existing professionals including speech and language therapists, school counsellors, nurses, and the voluntary sector to treat those with mild to moderate mental health issues in school and will help children and young people with more severe needs to access the right support and provide a link to specialist NHS services.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the Government plans to begin work on a new alcohol strategy.

Steve Brine: The Department of Health and Social Care and Home Office officials are continuing to hold discussions on the proposals for a new joint alcohol strategy and further announcements will be made in due course.

Department of Health and Social Care: Contracts

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which service providers are contracted to carry out third party cleaning contracts for his (a) Department and (b) executive agencies; if he will list all of the services delivered by third party contractors to his (i) Department and (ii) executive agencies; and how many people working for those third party contractors are paid less than the Living Wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department contracts with EMCOR UK for cleaning services. Third party cleaning contracts are in place between EMCOR UK and Active clean, KEF and Churchills in delivering cleaning services within the Department’s buildings. The Department does not have the rates of pay of the third-party service providers. All service providers comply with the law in respect of the National Minimum Wage, but, in line with Cabinet Office advice, the Department and its executive agencies do not require their contracted companies to pay their employees the Living Wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation. Public Health England contracts directly for cleaning services across five sites with three suppliers – EMCOR UK, Minster and Corporate Service Management. There are currently 28 individuals that they believe are paid below the Living Wage Foundation rate. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency contracts directly for cleaning services across two sites with four suppliers- Interserve, Churchill, Pharmacleanse and Micronclean (Specialist Cleaning Services). Micronclean have 209 employees on a gross hourly rate of less than £9 which is less than the Real Living Wage.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what mental health support is available for children and young people diagnosed with life-limiting conditions.

Jackie Doyle-Price: We are committed to ensuring that mental health support is available to all children and young people, including those diagnosed with life-limiting conditions. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence provides national guidance on end of life care for infants, children and young people, including ensuring that infants, children and young people with a life-limiting condition and their parents or carers are given information about emotional and psychological support, including how to access it. This guidance can be found at the following link: https://pathways.nice.org.uk/pathways/end-of-life-care-for-people-with-life-limiting-conditions The NHS Long Term Plan, published on 7 January 2019, announced that that by 2023/24 an extra 345,000 children and young people aged 0-25 will receive mental health support via National Health Service-funded mental health services. Under the Long Term Plan, mental health services will continue to receive a growing share of the NHS budget, with funding to grow by at least £2.3 billion a year by 2023/24. For the first time, funding for children and young people’s mental health services will grow faster than both overall NHS funding and total mental health spending. In addition to the commitments set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, on 20 December we announced the first wave of 25 trailblazer sites that will test the plans set out in ‘Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision: a green paper’, published in December 2017. These new plans will significantly increase the availability of mental health support to children and young people, including those with life limiting conditions.

Palliative Care: Finance

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much NHS England has spent on palliative care in each financial year since 2012-13.

Caroline Dinenage: Much of the palliative care patients receive will be provided either in outpatient or community settings, by nurses, community teams or general practitioners as part of general NHS services provision, rather than as an identified palliative care service. In such services, data are either not available or do not identify palliative treatment. In addition, social and voluntary sector organisations can provide additional support to patients and the end of life. Therefore, figures for the total cost of palliative care service for children nationally, or across boroughs, is not available.

Care Homes

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which residential and nursing homes he has visited in an official capacity since 9 July 2018; and what the date was of each such visit.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which hospitals he has visited in an official capacity since 9 July 2018; what the (a) date and (b) purpose was of each such visit.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which hospitals he has visited in an official capacity in 2015-16 to date; what the date of each such visit was; and what the purpose of that visit was.

Caroline Dinenage: Since 9 July 2018, my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has visited the following hospitals and residential homes in his ministerial capacity.10 July 2018University College Hospital, London19 July 2018Bridgeside Lodge Residential Care Centre, Islington, London20 July 2018West Suffolk Hospital, Bury St Edmunds23 August 2018Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London6 September 2018Salford Royal Hospital10 September 2018Southmead Hospital, Bristol10 September 2018Westbury Fields Retirement Village, Bristol25 September 2018Derriford Hospital, Plymouth26 September 2018Ottery St Mary's Hospital29 September 2018Birmingham Children’s Hospital18 October 2018St James’s University Hospital, Leeds19 October 2018Leeds General Infirmary19 October 2018Pilgrim Hospital, Boston23 November 2018Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, Stroke Assessment Centre23 November 2018Queens Hospital, Burton23 November 2018Meadow View Residential and Community Care Centre, Matlock29 November 2018Medway Maritime Hospital, Gillingham7 December 2018Queen Alexandra Hospital, Cosham19 December 2018Milton Keynes Hospital20 December 2018Coborn Centre for Adolescent Mental Health, Newham University Hospital, London22 December 2018Kentish Town Health Centre, London7 January 2019Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Liverpool11 January 2019Bexhill Hospital11 January 2019Conquest Hospital, Hastings17 January 2019Finchley Memorial Hospital Breast Screening Unit, London Since my response of 2 May 2018 to Question 140727, my Rt. hon. Friend the former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (the Rt. hon. Jeremy Hunt MP), visited the following acute, community and mental health National Health Service trusts in his ministerial capacity.26 April 2018West Suffolk Hospital NHS Foundation Trust27 April 2018Wye Valley NHS Trust27 April 2018Gloucestershire Care Services NHS Trust27 April 2018Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust4 May 2018South West London and St George's Mental Health Trust4 May 2018St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust4 May 2018Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust17 May 2018Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust17 May 2018Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust18 May 2018Sheffield Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust18 May 2018Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust18 May 2018Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust18 May 2018Chesterfield Royal NHS Foundation Trust15 June 2018West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust28 June 2018Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust28 June 2018Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust29 June 2018Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust29 June 2018Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust29 June 2018London North West Healthcare NHS Trust29 June 2018Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust

Health Professions: Training

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much Health Education England spent on clinical placements for (a) nursing, (b) midwifery and (c) allied health students in each year for which figures are available.

Stephen Hammond: The information is not held in the format requested.

Alcoholic Drinks: Consumption

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on public health of alcohol consumption in England.

Steve Brine: In 2016, Public Health England published its alcohol evidence review which found that since 1980, sales of alcohol in England and Wales increased by 42%, from roughly 400 million litres in the early 1980s, peaked at 567 million litres in 2008 and then declined. The review found that alcohol-related harms have increased in recent years, and that there are now over one million alcohol-related hospital admissions each year, half of which are people from the lowest socio-economic groups. Alcohol-related deaths have also increased, particularly for liver disease which has increased by 400%, since 1970. The alcohol evidence review can be viewed at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-public-health-burden-of-alcohol-evidence-review Actions to help reduce alcohol harm include supporting: - healthcare professionals to give brief alcohol advice to hospital inpatients and in primary care;- hospitals with the highest rate of alcohol dependence-related admissions to establish alcohol care teams as recommended in the National Health Service Long Term Plan; and- local authorities to commission effective alcohol treatment to help people recover from dependence.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost to the NHS of alcohol misuse in each of the last five years.

Steve Brine: The most recent assessment of costs to the National Health Service in England associated with alcohol misuse estimated these costs to be £3.5 billion each year in line with 2009/10 prices. The Government does not update this estimate on an annual basis.

Nurses

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many nurses were employed in each Agenda for Change pay band in each month for which figures are available since 1 April 2018.

Stephen Hammond: NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics for England. The attached table shows the number of nurses and health visitors employed in each Agenda for Change pay band in National Health Service trusts, clinical commissioning groups, support organisations and central bodies in England, between April 2018 and October 2018, full time equivalent.



PQ211278 attached table
(Word Document, 22.93 KB)

Nurses

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many nurses were employed in each NHS region in each month for which figures are available since 1 April 2018.

Stephen Hammond: NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups, but not staff working in primary care, local authorities or other providers. The attached table shows the full time equivalent figures for the number of nurses employed by the National Health Service in England as at the last day of each specified month and the latest information available, for each Health Education England region.



PQ211279 attached table
(Word Document, 31.19 KB)

Junior Doctors: Working Hours

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of junior doctors do not work at weekends.

Stephen Hammond: This information is not held centrally in the format requested.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Standards

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients spent 12 hours in A&E from the decision to admit to admission in (a) 2013, (b) 2014, (c) 2015, (d) 2016, (e) 2017, (f) 2018, (g) 2019 to date.

Stephen Hammond: The volume of patients spending over 12 hours in accident and emergency (A&E), from decision to admit to admission, in the financial years 2013-14 to 2018-19 is shown in the following table. NHS England collects and publishes this information each month, quarter and year.YearNumber of patients spending 12 hours or more from decision to admit to admission2013-142402014-151,2432015-161,0142016-173,5022017-183,4712018-19 (year to date)1,768Source: NHS England, A&E attendances and emergency admissions https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/ae-attendances-and-emergency-admissions-2018-19/

Surgery: Costs

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average cost to the NHS was of a (a) hip replacement, (b) knee replacement, (c) cataract operation and (d) hernia operation in England in each year since 2013.

Stephen Hammond: The information is shown in the following table. Estimated average unit cost to National Health Service providers in 2014-15 to 2017-18 Average unit cost per one finished consultant episode 2014-152015-162016-172017-18Hip replacement£6,793£7,090£7,032£7,313Knee replacement£5,944£6,253£6,181£6,315Cataract operation£747£805£811£803Hernia operation£2,193£2,331£2,308£2,500Source: NHS Improvement Reference Costs

Mental Health Services: Per Capita Costs

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much was spent in (a) cash and (b) real terms on mental health services per head of population in England in each of the last five years.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much was spent in (a) cash and (b) real terms on child and adolescent mental health services per young person in England in each of the last five years.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The information is not collected in the format requested.

NHS: Drugs

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of generic drugs his Department is currently paying a premium for due to shortage of supply.

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for his policies of recent trends in the shortage of supply for drugs; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: 30 concessionary prices have been granted so far for the month of January. However, we are still considering requests from the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee for January. The concessionary prices granted for each month can be found on the website of the NHS Business Services Authority. In primary care, concessionary prices ensure that patients continue to get their medication and community pharmacists are reimbursed fairly if the price of a generic medicine suddenly increases and community pharmacies cannot purchase the medicine at the price listed in the Drug Tariff. The sudden increase in a price may be the consequence of a supply issue but may have other causes including normal market forces leading to prices going up. Concessionary prices are granted for one month. Whilst a supply issue may lead to a price increase and therefore a concessionary price, the number of concessionary prices granted is not an indication of the number of medicines supply issues.

NHS Trusts: Staff

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much NHS trusts have spent on agency and contract staff in each year since 2009-10; and how much NHS trusts plan to spend on such staff in 2018-19 and 2019-20; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: Trust pay reporting is split into substantive, bank and agency with no separate category for contractors. We are therefore not able to provide figures for the amounts spent on contract staff. However, comparable figures for agency expenditure are available from 2012-13 and are as follows: Year£ million2012-132,1132013-142,5892014-153,1902015-163,6352016-172,9352017-182,407 Agency expenditure up to Q2 this year was £1.21 billion with an annual ceiling target of £2.2 billion. Trust financial plans for 2019/20, including temporary staffing, are currently being finalised so we are not able to provide any information on this yet. We are committed to reducing trusts’ reliance on agency workers, whilst ensuring they can meet their temporary staffing needs. Since the introduction of the agency reduction measures in 2016, agency spend has fallen from a peak of £3.6 billion in 2015/16 to £2.4 billion in 2017/18 – a £1.2 billion reduction.

NHS: Repairs and Maintenance

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the cost of backlog maintenance for the NHS estate in England was, by level of assessed risk, in each financial year since 2010-11.

Stephen Hammond: The Backlog Maintenance cost reported by the National Health Service in total since 2010-11 is shown in the following table: Cost to eradicate high risk backlogCost to eradicate significant risk backlogCost to eradicate moderate risk backlogCost to eradicate low risk backlog £ million£ million£ million£ million2010-11321.71,021.61,523.61,298.72011-12296.3926.41,484.81,316.32012-13353.11,002.01,476.51,204.32013-14356.61,016.71,426.61,241.82014-15458.01,062.11,551.31,266.52016-17947.11,791.81,798.41,008.22017-181,038.52,028.01,869.21,023.6 The Department collects data on backlog maintenance annually from the NHS trusts through its Estates Returns Information Collection. The data collected has not been amended centrally and its accuracy always remains the responsibility of the contributing NHS organisations.

Malnutrition

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients in each age group were admitted to hospital with a diagnosis of malnutrition in each of the last five years.

Steve Brine: NHS Digital has provided a count of finished admission episodes1 (FAE) where primary diagnosis2 was malnutrition3, by 10 year age bands for the years 2014-15 to 2017-184. This information is provided in the following table. Activity in English National Health Service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sectorAge band (years)2014-152015-162016-172017-180-92817293510-191418302920-293939405530-394262535340-49971108810050-5913614515313060-6912512715217570-7911310914012080-899784828390+38251920Unknown551519All ages734741801819Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), NHS Digital Notes: 1FAE is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period. 2The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 diagnosis fields in the HES data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital. 3ICD-10 codes used to define malnutrition are:E40 KwashiorkorE41 Nutritional marasmusE42 Marasmic kwashiorkorE43 Unspecified severe protein-energy malnutritionE44 Protein-energy malnutrition of moderate and mild degreeE45 Retarded development following protein-energy malnutritionE46 Unspecified protein-energy malnutritionO25 Malnutrition in pregnancy 4HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, apparent reductions in activity may be due to a number of procedures which may now be undertaken in outpatient settings and so no longer include in admitted patient HES data. Conversely, apparent increases in activity may be due to improved recording of diagnosis or procedure information.

Hospitals: Malnutrition

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients died of malnutrition in NHS hospitals in each of the last 10 years.

Steve Brine: NHS Digital has provided a count of finished discharge episodes1 for in-hospital deaths2 where the cause of death3 was malnutrition4, split by independent and National Health Service providers for the years 2008-09 to 2017-185. This information is provided in the following table. Activity in English NHS hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sectorProvider typeNHSIndependent2008-0950-2009-1050-2010-1140-2011-1250-2012-1350-2013-1445*2014-1550*2015-1650*2016-1755-2017-1865-Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data linked to Office for National Statistics (ONS) death registrations dataNotes:1A finished discharge episode is the last episode during a hospital stay (a spell), where the patient is discharged from the hospital or transferred to another hospital. Discharges do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one discharge from hospital within the period. 2HES records the circumstances under which a patient left hospital. For the majority of patients this is when they are discharged by the consultant and it is only recorded for the last episode in a spell. 3Cause of death has been obtained through linkage to ONS data. These data do not provide enough information to link the deaths to poor care. It is not possible to determine from these figures how or where the condition originated. There are many explanations as to why someone becomes malnourished: for example they may have cancer of the digestive tract, which means they can not eat properly or can not absorb nutrients; they may have suffered from a stroke or have advanced dementia which can cause difficulties chewing and swallowing; or they may abuse alcohol and so not eat properly. The deceased may have been malnourished before they went into hospital (for any of the reasons mentioned previously), and perhaps only have been in hospital a very short time and the malnutrition may have nothing to do with not being fed properly in hospital. Also, in the majority of deaths in hospitals from falls, it is likely the fall occurred elsewhere, not in the hospital. It is possible that poor care may have been a factor in some of the deaths, but ONS data does not provide enough evidence to draw this conclusion. 4ICD-10 Codes used to define malnutrition are:E40 KwashiorkorE41 Nutritional marasmusE42 Marasmic kwashiorkorE43 Unspecified severe protein-energy malnutritionE44 Protein-energy malnutrition of moderate and mild degreeE45 Retarded development following protein-energy malnutritionE46 Unspecified protein-energy malnutrition 5HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, apparent reductions in activity may be due to a number of procedures which may now be undertaken in outpatient settings and so no longer include in admitted patient HES data. Conversely, apparent increases in activity may be due to improved recording of diagnosis or procedure information. It should be noted that HES include activity ending in the year in question and run from April to March, e.g. 2012-13 includes activity ending between 1 April 2012 and 31 March 2013. Disclosure Control In order to protect patient confidentiality '*' appears in the table above for all sub-national breakdowns, where it is possible to calculate a value between 1 and 7 from the data presented. All other sub-national data has been rounded to the nearest 5. If the national total is between 1 and 7 (inclusive), no sub-national breakdown will be displayed. If the national total is greater than or equal to 8;a. Sub-national counts between 1 and 7 (inclusive) will be displayed as ’*’.b. Zeroes will be unchanged.c. All other counts will be rounded to the nearest 5.

Department of Health and Social Care: Vacancies

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department has spent on advertising job vacancies in each of year since October 2011.

Caroline Dinenage: This information is not held centrally in the Department as recruitment is carried out by the Government Recruitment Service in the Cabinet Office.

NHS: Redundancy

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the cost to the public purse has been of staff redundancies by clinical commissioning group area in each year since April 2014.

Stephen Hammond: The information is not held centrally.

Department of Health and Social Care: Sikhs

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many Sikhs are employed in his Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group.

Caroline Dinenage: As of 24 January 2018, eight civil servants in the Department were recorded as being Sikh, as a religious group.

Department of Health and Social Care: Staff

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the corrected Answer of 22 January 2019 to Question 206251, how many civil servants in his Department were working part or full time on projects in the Government Major Projects Portfolio in (a) June 2016 and (b) December 2018.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP) is a continually evolving portfolio of the Government’s most complex and high risk projects. Direct comparisons of the GMPP across years should therefore be treated with caution. Projects join and leave the GMPP throughout the year and it is therefore likely that a simple comparison across two time points will refer to different sets of projects. At the end of June 2016 (i.e. the end of the Quarter 1 reporting period for 2016-17), 561.67 officials in the Department and its arm’s length bodies were working on GMPP projects. GMPP data for December 2018 (Q3 2018/19) has not yet been cleared and finalised. At the end of September 2018 (i.e. the latest submitted data, at end of the Quarter 2 reporting period for 2018-19), 304 officials in the Department and its arm’s length bodies were working on GMPP projects. This data refers to public sector employees, defined as those who are directly in the employment of the Civil or Crown Service, local government or arm’s length body at the relevant snapshot date, including seconded members of staff who join the team as Civil, Crown or Public servants.

NHS: Waiting Lists

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to decrease waiting times for (a) A&E admissions, (b) routine operations and (c) cancer care.

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting times for (a) A&E admissions, (b) routine operations and (c) cancer care were in each year since 2010.

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting times for (a) A&E admissions, (b) routine operations and (c) cancer care in were London hospitals since 2010.

Stephen Hammond: Data is not available in the format requested. NHS England collects and publishes annual national level accident and emergency, referral-to-treatment and cancer waiting times performance data. The national performance for each financial year from 2009-10, where available, is shown in the table below: Financial yearAccident and Emergency (95% standard)Referral-to-Treatment (92% standard)Cancer - 2 week (93% standard)Cancer - 31 day (96% standard)Cancer - 62 day (85% standard)2009-10N/AN/A95.6% (Data collected from October 2009)98.4% (Data collected from October 2009)86.6% (Data collected from October 2009)2010-1197.4%N/A95.5%98.3%87.0%2011-1296.6%91.3%95.9%98.4%87.2%2012-1395.9%94.4%95.5%98.4%87.2%2013-1495.7%94.1%95.3%98.2%85.9%2014-1593.6%93.3%94.2%97.7%83.4%2015-1691.9%92.5%94.2%97.6%82.4%2016-1789.1%90.7%94.4%97.5%81.9%2017-1888.3%89.1%94.1%97.5%82.2% Data is not collected by individual hospital site. Data as is available can be accessed via the following links:Accident and Emergency (Data available from 2010-11):https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/Referral-to-treatment (Data available from 2011-12):https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/Cancer (Data available from 2009-10):https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/cancer-waiting-times/ The Long Term Plan, launched by the National Health Service on 7 January 2018, will transform patient care and make sure every penny of taxpayers’ money is spent wisely. This is supported by the Government’s investment of £20.5 billion a year in real terms by 2023/24. The additional funding will allow the NHS to get back on the path to delivering core performance standards. More than that, it will also drive the reforms that deliver a better and more sustainable NHS with improved care for patients. In addition, NHS England’s ‘Operational and Planning Guidance for 2019/20’ sets out deliverables against key performance areas and the Government expects the NHS to deliver these actions set– in full – as key steps towards fully recovering performance against core access standards.The Government has also supported the NHS with an additional £1.6 billion for 2018/19 to improve emergency and elective performance. In addition, more than £420 million has been provided specifically for this winter.

Department for International Development

India: Overseas Aid

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what is the criteria is for providing aid to India.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK gives no money to the Indian Government.Instead, the UK offers expertise, skills and investment to India in areas of mutual interest such as urban development, financial services, energy and security. The Prosperity Fund and Newton Fund support projects in India led by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to deliver joint economic development priorities in India, focusing on areas which will generate jobs and lift people out of poverty.

Developing Countries: Debts

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to help ensure developing country debt repayments do not undermine poverty reducing public spending and progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

Penny Mordaunt: Borrowing can be an important tool to enable developing countries to make the productive investments that they need to make progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. However, repayments on excessive debt levels can crowd out other vital areas of public spending. The UK supports the IMF and World Bank’s multi-pronged work programme to promote debt transparency and sustainability in low-income countries. This includes both engagement with borrowers to improve their debt management, and with creditors to help support sustainable lending practices and creditor coordination. The UK will continue to work with other G20 members to monitor progress on this, as well as on the initiative led by the Institute of International Finance to improve the transparency of lending of private creditors, and steps being taken to improve official creditor mechanisms through the on-going implementation of the G20 Operational Guidelines for Sustainable Financing.

Department for International Development: Sikhs

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many Sikhs are employed in her Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group.

Harriett Baldwin: As at 31 December 2018, 6 civil servants in my Department have voluntary declared their religious group as being Sikh.

Department for International Development: Staff

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the corrected Answer of 22 January 2019 to Question 206251, how many civil servants in her Department were working part or full-time on projects in the Government Major Projects Portfolio in (a) June 2016 and (b) December 2018.

Alistair Burt: The number of Civil Servants in DFID that were working on Government Major Programmes in June 2016 and December 2018 are as follows;June 2016: 6 Full-time and 2 Part-time.December 2018: 4 Full-time and 4 Part-time.

Jordan: Refugees

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether time has been allocated on the agenda of the 2019 London Initiative on 28 February 2019 to highlight barriers to economic participation for refugees living in Jordan.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that barriers to economic participation for refugees are included as part of discussion during the upcoming 2019 London Initiative on 28 February 2019.

Alistair Burt: The London Initiative will aim to boost sustainable and inclusive business-led economic growth in Jordan. A core strand of the Initiative and its implementation will focus on reforms to increase workforce participation for all, particularly from women, youth and refugees.

Jordan: Economic Growth

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether representatives of Jordanian civil society have been invited to attend the 2019 London initiative on opportunities for growth in Jordan.

Alistair Burt: We are working through the Crown Prince foundation, a leading Jordanian NGO, to ensure participation of Jordanian civil society at the London Initiative and at events in the margins. International NGOs working on job-creation, skills-development and women’s’ economic empowerment have been invited to attend, and we are organising a civil society consultation session in Amman to feed into the London event.

Developing Countries: Sanitation

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the UK upholds its commitment to Sustainable Development Goal 6 on achieving universal access to water and sanitation by 2030.

Penny Mordaunt: The UK is committed to supporting countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 6 target of universal access to water and sanitation by 2030. Since 2015, we have supported 40 million people to gain access to clean water and sanitation. We expect to help a total of 60 million people gain access to water and sanitation by 2020. Access to water, sanitation and hygiene is central to unlocking the potential of individuals, communities and businesses and will continue to be a key part of the UK’s development offer. We will determine the level of funding to water, sanitation and hygiene through future spending reviews.

Developing Countries: Sanitation

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much funding her Department has allocated to (a) water, (b) sanitation and (c) hygiene programmes in each of the last three years; and how much such funding her Department plans to allocate in each of the next two years.

Alistair Burt: In each of the last three years, DFID’s spending on water supply and sanitation was £180m, £184m, and £170m respectively. Due to the integrated nature of our water, sanitation and hygiene programmes, we do not report on disaggregated spend between the three sub-sectors. The estimate of funds committed to water and sanitation on Devtracker for 2018-19 is £201.5m. Our funding for programmes is based on the amount needed to achieve the results expected. We have committed sufficient funds to meet programme requirements for the next two years.

Climate Change: Sanitation

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to tackle the effect of climate change on water, sanitation and hygiene services in (a) Ethiopia and (b) other climate vulnerable countries.

Penny Mordaunt: DFID is supporting the development of climate resilient water and sanitation services in climate vulnerable countries in Africa and Asia. For example, in Ethiopia, DFID has supported investments in water supply schemes which are more resilient to droughts. DFID also plans to support the Government of Ethiopia in improving the management of groundwater, to upgrade water and sanitation infrastructure to make it more resilient, and to build the capability of staff to use climate information. In Nepal, DFID has supported rural water programmes to implement climate resilient designs and understand the potential impacts of climate change. We are also working with the World Health Organisation to support Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Nepal and Bangladesh to improve disease surveillance and use water and sanitation safety management tools to reduce the risks of outbreaks of cholera and other diseases which are affected by climate change.

Syria: Drinking Water

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to increase access to clean drinking water for (a) internally displaced persons in Syria and (b) refugees from Syria in neighbouring countries.

Alistair Burt: In the last financial year alone, our support meant that over 4.1 million people within Syria were provided with clean drinking water. In the Northwest, for example, DFID’s support is providing access to water and sanitation services for highly vulnerable Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), including one programme that is using trucks to deliver water services, reaching over 67,000 people in need across over 100 IDP sites in the area. Elsewhere, DFID has funded UNICEF to provide life-saving water to the approximately 40,000 people in Rukban IDP camp. We are also committed to supporting neighbouring countries who are hosting Syrian refugees. For example, since the start of the crisis, the UK has provided funding to support sustainable access to clean water or sanitation facilities in Lebanon for over 1.1 million people in need from Syria and Lebanon. In Jordan, the UK is providing £14.1 million to UNICEF between December 2016 and November 2019 to provide refugees with access to clean drinking water, through installing water systems in refugee camps and delivering water to vulnerable households in host communities. DFID also provided £8 million to UNICEF in the last financial year to enhance access to water and sanitation infrastructure for the most vulnerable communities in Iraq, including to camps which host Syrian refugees.

Climate Change

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to identify (a) people and (b) communities that are vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

Harriett Baldwin: DFID’s general programme management guidance encourages all Business Cases to consider the Climate and Environment impacts of our activities on poor people. This includes ensuring that our interventions do not increase communities’ vulnerabilities to climate shocks and trends; as well as improving their sustainability and climate resilience.DFID has also undertaken specific country growth diagnostics which include assessment of climate vulnerability and resilience. Bespoke regional climate analyses with national summaries of climate risks for every DFID priority country have been prepared to help this process and the programming of resources at country level.

Migrant Camps: Disabled

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support disabled people in refugee camps.

Alistair Burt: DFID published its first Disability Inclusion Strategy in 2018, committing to strive for equitable access to essential humanitarian services for all people with disabilities, including refugees and the forcibly displaced. Our support ranges from rehabilitation services, wheelchairs and prosthetic limbs for refugees in Jordan and Lebanon, through to community help desks, accessible latrines and supported food distribution in camps in Tanzania and in Uganda. We provide mental health and psychosocial support, including matching donations to War Child to support 400 children traumatised by war in the Central African Republic. We are also pressing the UN’s Refugee Agency to ensure protection and assistance programmes are accessible to all vulnerable groups, including those with disabilities.

Migrant Camps: Education

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much funding her Department has allocated to new programmes providing education for children in refugee camps.

Alistair Burt: The UK has been at the forefront of pushing for quality education for refugee children. UK support for UNICEF’s No Lost Generation Initiative helped provide education and support to more than half a million displaced Syrian children. We have committed more than £400 million extra to the Girls’ Education Challenge, to ensure up to 1.5 million marginalised girls are supported to access a quality education and learning - including 20,000 girls in refugee camps in Kenya. We are a founding member and one of the largest donors to Education Cannot Wait, aiming to reach 8 million children in emergencies by 2021. And we also provide direct support, whether through teacher training programmes to camps in Ethiopia or in the key role we played in developing Uganda’s first ever education response plan, which aims to support more than 550,000 refugee and host community children.

Refugees

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to consult with refugee communities on the effectiveness of UK aid programmes.

Alistair Burt: We are clear that refugees and host communities must have the opportunity to engage meaningfully with the decisions that affect them. DFID works with partners to consult beneficiaries and engage directly with affected communities. This includes community outreach to Rohingya in Bangladesh, a new inter-agency mechanism to better manage refugee feedback and complaints in Uganda, and through refugees sitting on utility boards in Ethiopia to make decisions about water supply and treatment. We also pushed to ensure refugees were part of the consultations on the new Global Compact on Refugees. We welcome the “strong partnership and participatory approach” with refugees that the final Compact emphasises.

Department for Education

Free School Meals

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of trends in the number of children (a) eligible for and (b) applying for free school meals in the last five years.

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of children who were eligible for free school meals in (a) Hartlepool, (b) Hastings and (c) Swindon prior to the roll out of universal credit in those areas; and if he will make a statement.

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of children who are eligible for free school meals in (a) Hartlepool, (b) Hastings and (c) Swindon since the roll out of universal credit in those areas; and if he will make a statement.

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of children who applied for free school meals in (a) Hartlepool, (b) Hastings and (c) Swindon prior to the roll out of universal credit in those areas; and if he will make a statement.

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of children who have applied for free school meals in (a) Hartlepool, (b) Hastings and (c) Swindon since the roll out of universal credit in those areas; and if he will make a statement.

Nadhim Zahawi: Information on the number of individual applications made for free school meals through schools or local authorities is not held centrally.Universal Credit (UC) has been introduced on a phased basis, both geographically, and to different claimant types – initially to single claimants and couples without children, before being made available to families. Universal Credit Full Service has been available to all claimant types, including families, in Hartlepool, Hastings and Swindon as follows: AreaDate UC full service rollout completedHartlepool7 December 2016Hastings14 December 2016Swindon14 December 2016   The department collects and publishes data on the number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals at local authority level. The number of pupils recorded as eligible and claiming free school meals over this period is as follows:AreaLocal Authority AreaJanuary 2016January 2017January 2018HartlepoolHartlepool3,3663,4503,924HastingsEast Sussex8,3218,2088,497SwindonSwindon3,9584,0064,176This data includes pupils at state-funded nursery and primary schools, secondary schools, special schools and pupil referral units and alternative provision academies and free schools.Further data is available on free school meals eligibility for local authority area is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2016.https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2017.https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2018.There has been a general decrease in the number of children eligible for and claiming free school meals over the last five years as the economy has improved. However, changes to the free school meals eligibility criteria introduced on 1 April 2018 along with the protections in place for children currently eligible for free school meals mean we expect more pupils will be entitled to free school meals by 2022 when compared to the previous criteria.The total number of pupils eligible for free school meals over the last five years is as follows:  January 2014January 2015January 2016January 2017January 2018No. pupils1,263,0551,195,4481,141,7841,128,1831,106,495% pupils16.315.214.314.013.6

Social Services: Greater Manchester

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with Directors of Children’s Services in Greater Manchester on their ability to deliver their statutory duties to children and families.

Nadhim Zahawi: Along with my right hon. Friend the Secretary for Education, I regularly meet key stakeholders, including Directors of Children’s Services (DCSs) to discuss policy issues relating to the department’s agenda.I recently met with DCSs and local authority chief executives at the National Children and Adult Services Conference, have held recent roundtables in the department with groups of both DCSs and chief executives, and attended induction events for new DCSs. In addition, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education spoke at the Association of Directors of Children’s Services Conference in Manchester and we have both very recently met with a number of children in care to hear their views and experiences.The department recognises how important it is to speak directly with those who are on the front-line delivering services for children and families.

Social Services: Children

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the correlation between deprivation and demand for children’s services.

Nadhim Zahawi: Demand for children’s services is associated with a number of factors including deprivation. The most deprived local authorities have more looked-after children (per 10,000 0-17 year olds) and these rates have grown faster than the least deprived local authorities. In preparation for the Spending Review, to help ensure decisions are based on the best available evidence, the government is working with the sector to develop a sharper and more granular picture of demand for children’s services.We are also working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government as part of the government’s review of relative needs and resources, where new, up-to-date formulae are being developed to ensure funding distribution to councils is based on the best available evidence. We welcome the contributions from the sector in this area including Newton Europe’s ‘Making sense’ (2018) report and the Association of Directors of Children’s Services continuing research reports, ‘Safeguarding pressures’ (2018).

Social Services: North West

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information his Department holds on the amount local authorities in (a) Greater Manchester and (b) the North West overspent on children’s services in 2017-18; and whether he plans to provide additional funding for local authority run children's services.

Nadhim Zahawi: Local authorities are required under Section 251 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act (2009) to submit education and children’s social care budget and expenditure statements. This data is published in statistical releases annually:Budget is from Table 3 of: ‘Planned local authority and school expenditure: 2018 to 2019 financial year’: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/planned-la-and-school-expenditure-2018-to-2019-financial-year.Outturn is from Table 7 of ‘Local authority and school expenditure: 2017 to 2018 financial year’: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/la-and-school-expenditure-2017-to-2018-financial-year. This data is published for all local authorities in statistical releases annually.At Autumn Budget, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced an extra £410 million next year for social care, including children’s services, along with £84 million over 5 years to support up to 20 local authorities to improve their social work practice. This builds on the £200 billion government has already made available to councils up to 2020 to provide services in the best interests of local residents, including those for children and young people.The government will continue to work closely with the sector to consider long-term children’s services funding as part of the 2019 Spending Review, when the government will set out its long-term spending approach.

Productivity and Skilled Workers: Midlands

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of his Department's progress in tackling the skills and productivity gap in the Midlands.

Anne Milton: We are working closing with the West Midlands Combined Authority on the implementation of the Skills Deal, which is designed to help tackle the skills and productivity gap in the region. This includes supporting them to maximise the opportunities of the Apprenticeship Levy; and to drive adult learning and retraining in digital skills via a pilot that will inform the National Retraining Scheme. From the 2019/20 academic year, the adult education budget will be devolved to the West Midlands Combined Authority. Once devolved, the combined authority will decide how best to use this funding, to meet the needs of their residents and the local economy. The department has worked very closely with officials in the combined authority to support their preparations, and a strong relationship has been established. A Memorandum of Understanding between the department and the combined authority establishes a collaborative way of working at all levels to maximise the potential of adult education devolution. We are also establishing Skills Advisory Panels, which bring together local employers and skills providers to pool knowledge on skills and labour market needs, and to work together to understand and address key local challenges. Both the West Midlands Mayoral Combined Authority and Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership were in the first phase of local areas, working with the department to develop the policy. The West Midlands Combined Authority has already held its inaugural meeting of its Skills Advisory Panel in November 2018. The department is working with all panels across England, including in the Midlands, to establish their Skills Advisory Panels by October 2019, in line with the guidance[1] the department published in December 2018. We are also supporting, alongside other government departments, the Midlands Engine’s Vision for Growth, which includes tackling the mismatch between business skills needs and the skill levels of residents in the region.  [1] Department for Education (DfE) (December 2018) Skills Advisory Panels: Guidance on the Role and Governance, available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/762629/Skills_Advisory_Panels-Guidance_on_the_Role_and_Governance.pdf and DfE (December 2018) Skills Advisory Panels Analytical Toolkit, avaialbe at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/skills-advisory-panels-analytical-toolkit.

Education: Finance

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent comparative assessment he has made of the level of funding for education in (a) England and (b) EU member states.

Nick Gibb: The Department uses internationally comparable data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to assess how our funding compares internationally. This data shows that the UK is among the higher spenders on education at primary and secondary level. The UK government spends 3.8% of GDP on primary and secondary educational institutions, compared to an EU22 average of 3.0%. Within the EU, only Belgium (4.1%) and Finland (4.0%) spend a higher proportion of GDP on primary and secondary educational institutions than the UK. The OECD data also shows that the UK is the top spender in the G7 on schools and colleges delivering primary and secondary education, as a percentage of GDP. Total expenditure on primary and secondary educational institutions as a percentage of GDP, from government sources (2015) in EU countries in the OECD analysis can be found in the table below: CountryExpenditure as a percentage of GDPAustria3.0Belgium4.1Czech Republic2.4DenmarkMissingEstonia2.7Finland4.0France3.4Germany2.6Greece2.7Hungary2.7Ireland2.5Italy2.8Latvia3.3Luxembourg2.8Netherlands3.2Poland2.9Portugal3.4Slovak Republic2.6Slovenia3.0Spain2.7Sweden3.6United Kingdom3.8EU22 average3.0 The data on expenditure on educational institutions as a percentage of GDP by source of funds is available in Table C2.2 of the OECD’s Education at a Glance 2018 publication at the following link: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/education-at-a-glance-2018/total-expenditure-on-educational-institutions-as-a-percentage-of-gdp-by-source-of-funds-2015_eag-2018-table140-en.

Supported Housing: Children and Young People

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate he has made of the number of (a) 16 and (b) 17 year olds living in unsupported independent living accommodation.

Nadhim Zahawi: Data on children looked-after in independent living without live-in support is not collected or published by the department. The department collects annual data on looked-after children in independent living, with or without live-in support.

Social Mobility

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the State of the Nation 2018 report by the Social Mobility Commission will be published.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Social Mobility Commission is planning to publish the ‘State of the nation 2018’ report in spring 2019.

Students: Mental Health

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support the mental health and well-being of postgraduate students in universities.

Chris Skidmore: Holding answer received on 29 January 2019



Mental health is a priority for this government, which is why the government is working closely with Universities UK on embedding the Step Change programme within the sector. Step Change calls on higher education leaders to adopt mental health as a strategic priority. Step Change also advocates a whole-institution approach to transform cultures and embed mental health initiatives beyond student services teams.The former Higher Education Funding Council for England's Catalyst Fund also provided £1.5 million for 17 projects to improve the mental health of postgraduate research students. The Office for Students (OfS) is working with Research England to deliver this scheme.This investment and the ongoing work of the OfS will support a range of activities. It will develop new practice for the pastoral support of postgraduate research students, and enhance training for their supervisors and other staff. Postgraduate research has different expectations and working practices to undergraduate work, so it will also help students adjust to the change.

Teachers: Graduates

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reasons his Department is no longer focusing on using its 2017 Early Years Workforce Strategy to increase the number of specialist graduates employed in early years’ education in favour of focusing on school-based early years’ provision.

Nadhim Zahawi: We are supporting the expansion of school-based nurseries and also investing in the wider workforce.The School Nurseries Capital Fund supports the creation of new high quality school-based nursery places for 2 year olds, 3 year olds and 4 year olds to deliver the government’s commitment to build more school-based nurseries and to improve social mobility.Alongside this, we are committed to ensuring that there are routes to graduate level qualifications for the early years workforce such as, for example, through our funding of the Early Years Initial Teacher Training programme. We are also supporting the professional development of the wider workforce, including through the £20 million Professional Development Fund launched in the national plan, ‘Unlocking Talent, Fulfilling Potential’, published 14 December 2017.

Children: Day Care

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has made and assessment of the potential merits of introducing a requirement for the workforce in (a) private, (b) voluntary and (b) independent childcare settings to contain at least one graduate early years' teacher.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework is mandatory for all early years providers in England. It sets out the staffing requirements for early years settings, including ratios and qualifications. There are no plans to change the staffing requirements under the EYFS framework.

Secondary Education: Standards

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 24 January 2019 to Question 210473 on Secondary Education: Standards, what steps his Department is taking to reduce levels of inequality in secondary education across different local education authority areas in England.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 24 January 2019 to Question 210472 on Primary Education: Standards, what steps his Department is taking to reduce levels of inequality in primary school attainment across different local education authority areas in England.

Nick Gibb: The Department for Education is committed to ensuring that all children, regardless of background, have the opportunity to fulfil their potential. As of August 2018, 86% of schools are judged good or outstanding by Ofsted. To raise standards, national programmes are in place which provide support at system or individual school level, which respond to ongoing challenges associated with reducing the gap between the most disadvantaged young people and their peers. The Department also funds a national network of Teaching Schools and National Leaders of Education to deliver school to school support. The Department has focused interventions in 12 areas of the country with low social mobility through the Opportunity Area programme. Opportunity Areas will help the Department to understand what works best in areas with entrenched social mobility barriers, including improving educational outcomes, so it can spread successful approaches across the country. In addition, the Department has recently launched the Opportunity North East and are investing £24 million to deliver a focused programme to address the specific challenges in the region, including to improve Key Stage 4 outcomes in secondary schools across this region.

Ministry of Justice

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Victims' Commissioner's review of the criminal injuries compensation scheme.

Edward Argar: We welcome the Victims’ Commissioner’s report, ‘Compensation without re-traumatisation’, which was published on 23 January.We will be considering carefully the report’s findings and recommendations as part of our ongoing review of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. The terms of reference for the review were published on 18 December 2018, and include consideration of how the Scheme can best reflect the changing nature of violent crime, and effectively support victims in their recovery. We intend to publish proposals later this year.

Debt Collection

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of current regulations on the conduct of bailiffs.

Lucy Frazer: The Ministry of Justice has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Legal Costs

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the highest hourly rate was that (a) his Department and (b) each of his Department's arms-length bodies paid for legal advice in 2018.

Jake Berry: a. Main DepartmentThe highest hourly rate that the main Department paid for legal advice in 2018 was £165 excluding VAT. Where the Department has sought advice from counsel, Attorney General’s Office rates will apply. For external legal firms on the General Legal Advice Services (GLAS) panel, rates are agreed under the framework. b. Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs) ALBsALB’s Highest Hourly Rate 2018 Legal Advise (ex-VAT)ARB (Architects Registration Board)Commercially sensitiveBRAC (Building Advisory Committee)NIL. Not ApplicableEDC (Ebbsfleet Development Corporation)£250HE (Homes England)Commercially sensitiveLEASE (Leasehold Advisory Service)NIL paidLGSCO (Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman)£190PINS (The Planning Inspectorate)£123QEIIC (Queen Elizabeth II Centre)£445VTS (Valuation Tribunal Service)£164RSH (Regulator of Social Housing)Commercially sensitiveTHO (The Housing Ombudsman)£260   Three of our Arms–Length Bodies (ALB) did not disclose a figure due to commercial sensitivities. The highest hourly rate was that for the QEIIC who were engaged to provide specialist commercial advice on employment legislation. The rate quoted was for the Director who was only engaged for part of the project. The differences in hourly rates across the other ALBs reflects the degree of specialisms.

Community Housing Fund

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with community-led housing groups in (a) Oxfordshire and (b) England on the future of the Community Housing Fund in advance of the next Spending Review.

Kit Malthouse: Over the past few months, my predecessor and I have received a large number of letters from MPs and the public offering a range of proposals concerning the Community Housing Fund. These proposals include extending the Fund beyond its currently scheduled closure date of 31 March 2020 – the end of the current Spending Review period. All such enquiries have received the response that all proposals to extend the scheme beyond March 2020 will be given due consideration but decisions on funding for 2020-21 onwards are a matter for the Spending Review, which will take place this year.

Community Housing Fund

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the ability of community-led housing groups in receipt of awards from the Community Housing Fund to complete schemes by March 2020.

Kit Malthouse: The Community Housing Fund is currently scheduled to close in March 2020. While the Homes England programme was launched relatively recently, there is still time for many community-led schemes to access funding and deliver housing, although we appreciate that this will be more difficult for very new schemes. The assessment of individual house building schemes in receipt of grants from the Community Housing Fund is a matter for Homes England.

Community Housing Fund

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will undertake a review of the requirement for community-led housing groups in receipt of awards from the Community Housing Fund intending to provide fewer than 100 homes to become Registered Providers.

Kit Malthouse: The Government fully recognises the important role community-led housing schemes play in delivering the much needed affordable housing in this country. The Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 is clear any social housing landlords that require financial assistance must be registered with the Regulator of Social Housing; and sets out the conditions for registration. Registration is important to safeguard public funds and to ensure tenants receive a good service from their landlord.The Regulator is committed to making sure that the process for registration is robust yet proportionate and its current guidance, which it keeps under review, may be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/685417/Guidance_-_Registration_for_new_entrants_Jan_2018.pdf

Building Regulations: Disability

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking in response to the recommendations of the ninth report of the Women and Equalities Committee on Building for Equality, published on 25 April 2017, HC 631, on increasing and enforcing minimum accessibility standards; and if he will make a statement.

Kit Malthouse: The Building Regulations Advisory Committee is currently defining the scope of a review into the Building Regulations’ requirements for access in Approved Document M (Access to and Use of Buildings), including the effectiveness of current standards both in relation to housing and other buildings.

Housing: Construction

Stephen Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Government provides support for new house buyers with snagging issues; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: This Government is committed to making the housing market work. By the mid-2020s, we aim to have increased house building to an average of 300,000 net new homes a year. And as we move towards achieving this target, we will not sacrifice higher quality and standards.We have already made commitments to provide better protection for purchasers of new build homes who experience snagging issues and we know more needs to be done. On 1 October 2018, we announced our intention for there to be a New Homes Ombudsman to protect the rights of homebuyers and hold developers to account. We also announced our intention to bring forward legislation to require all developers to belong to a New Homes Ombudsman.On 24 January, following a wide-ranging consultation with consumers and industry, we set out our plans to strengthen consumer redress for the whole housing market. I want to help plug the gaps in available redress services so that more people can get their housing disputes resolved without going through the courts. We have also made great strides to create greater fairness in the rental market by banning unfair letting fees, capping tenancy deposits and cracking down on rogue landlords.

Social Services: Children

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with Greater Manchester council leaders on future funding of children’s services.

Rishi Sunak: As the Minister for Local Government, I regularly hear from councils across the country to discuss the delivery of services, including children’s social care.The Department leads on the national Troubled Families Programme, which has been rolled-out across Greater Manchester. It aims to find better ways of working with complex families with multiple high-cost problems. I regularly visit participating authorities and hear from the families and children who are supported by the Programme, in which we have committed £920 million from 2015-2020.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Contracts

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which service providers are contracted to carry out third party cleaning contracts for his (a) Department and (b) executive agencies; if he will list all of the services delivered by third party contractors to his (i) Department and (ii) executive agencies; and how many people working for those third party contractors are paid less than the Living Wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.

Jake Berry: Cleaning services in buildings managed by the department and its executive agencies are undertaken by outsourced providers, OCS and Sodexo, as part of large facilities management service contracts.Cleaning services to the department’s headquarters based in 2 Marsham Street are provided under a contract managed by the Home Office.A list of all services delivered by third party contractors to the Department is not held in a centralised location, the information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Since January 2011, details of central government contracts above the value of £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder. Contracts published prior to 26 February 2015 can be viewed at: https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder. Those published after 26 February 2015 can be viewed at: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search.Rates of pay for people working for third party contractors are determined by their respective employers and not held by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. All outsourced providers are required to pay as a minimum, either the National Minimum Wage or the National Living Wage.

Buildings: Insulation

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2019 to Question 208362 on Buildings: Insulation, what testing his Department plans to carry out on the 1,421 non-aluminium composite material cladding samples submitted to the Building Research Establishment.

Kit Malthouse: Holding answer received on 28 January 2019



Where a non-Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) sample has been submitted as part of the Government's ACM screening programme the sender has been notified that the sample was not ACM and that it will not be tested under the screening programme. We have issued guidance to building owners on non-ACM cladding systems and have commissioned research to investigate types of non-ACM cladding material.

Social Rented Housing: Construction

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect on the provision of social housing through the planning process of changes in 2018 to the National Planning Policy Framework.

Kit Malthouse: Holding answer received on 28 January 2019



The revised National Planning Policy Framework will support councils and developers in delivering more homes, of better quality, more quickly – including social housing - to meet identified needs. It creates new opportunities to bring social housing forward and cater for a range of affordable housing needs. We will continue to monitor social housing completions.

Private Rented Housing: Housing Benefit

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing legislative proposals to prohibit landlords who have multiple convictions and who have been ruled unfit to rent out properties from collecting housing benefit payments.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: Housing Benefit is a social security benefit that provides help with rent. It is currently administered by local authorities, who have the statutory responsibility for its day-to-day administration.We have provided local authorities with strong powers of enforcement to stop the worst offenders from letting property. These include fines of up to £30,000, banning orders and rent repayment orders that force irresponsible landlords to repay housing benefit they have received for up to 12 months’ rent. We expect councils to use these strong powers to crack down on those who knowingly rent out unsafe accommodation and remove them from the sector. Many are already doing so. We have also recently provided nearly £2.4 million to support 55 local authorities to tackle rogue landlords.

Care Homes

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance he has issued to local authorities on checking employment standards by commissioned care providers.

Rishi Sunak: It is for local authorities, as the commissioner of services, to be satisfied that the providers they commission meet any required employment practices.

UK Shared Prosperity Fund

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to Question 207151 and with reference to the oral contribution of the Prime Minister on 21 January 2019, Official Report Column 52, when he plans to start the consultation on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund; and for what reason that consultation has been postponed.

Jake Berry: Whilst the Government remains committed to securing a good Brexit deal, it is right that we also plan for a no-deal scenario and we have therefore continued to review our approach to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) consultation accordingly. The Government recognises the importance of reassuring local areas on the future of local growth funding once we have left the European Union and providing clarity on UKSPF. Therefore we intend to publish the full consultation document shortly.

High Rise Flats: Insulation

Sarah Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 24 January 2019 to Question 210699 on High Rise Flats: Insulation, with reference to the Government’s programme to oversee the remediation of high-rise residential buildings with unsafe Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding, if he will publish the number of (a) social sector and (b) private sector tower blocks which have had ACM cladding removed but not yet replaced.

Kit Malthouse: The Building Safety Programme publishes a monthly data release. The latest information (end of December 2018) is published at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-safety-programme-monthly-data-release-december-2018.

Social Services: Children

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will publish the dates of the meetings he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on local authority delivered children's services.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will publish the dates of the meetings Ministers in his Department have had with their counterparts in the Department for Education on local authority delivered children's services.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department undertakes joint projects with the Department for Education on the delivery of local authority-run children's services.

James Brokenshire: Ministers and Officials regularly meet their counterparts in the Department for Education to discuss a range of issues, including the delivery of children’s services.MHCLG is responsible for funding local authorities through the local government finance settlement, which is largely unringfenced to allow local authorities to target spending according to local needs, such as children’s services. The Department for Education has policy responsibility for children’s services and works closely with local authorities on policy development, delivery and improvements.

Ministry of Defence

Forces Help to Buy Scheme

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to extend the Armed Forces Help to Buy Scheme beyond 2019.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Secretary of State for Defence announced on 3 December 2018 that the Forces Help to Buy (FHTB) pilot scheme is extended for new applicants by one year, until 31 December 2019.During the extension, officials will explore how FHTB policy fits within Defence's wider housing strategy and gather evidence on the scheme's effectiveness with a view to informing a further decision on the future of the scheme later this year.

Ministry of Defence: Contracts

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which service providers are contracted to carry out third party cleaning contracts for his (a) Department and (b) executive agencies; if he will list all of the services delivered by third party contractors to his (i) Department and (ii) executive agencies; and how many people working for those third party contractors are paid less than the Living Wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.g Wage Foundation.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: This question is interpreted as pertaining to those third-party contractors operating in the UK under UK law. The service providers who are contracted to carry out third party cleaning contracts for the Ministry of Defence (MOD) are Aramark Defence Services, Compass Contract Services (UK) Ltd and Sodexo. The service providers who are contracted to carry out third party cleaning contracts for Executive Agencies are EMCOR UK and Amey Community (Defence) Services. The list of all (cleaning) services delivered by third party contractors for the MOD on behalf of the Department are as follows: Common Services:Office accommodationCommunal areas – meeting rooms, break out areas, corridors, stairs, communal seating areasAccommodation – Mess and Single Living Accommodation blocks and some enhanced cleaning at specialist facilities (e.g Ilford Park Veterans Home)AblutionsWorkshop and training areas (including Hangars)Catering facilities and dining areasWindow cleaningLaundry and dry cleaningSpecialist cleaning (high value carpets, curtains, chandeliers, high beams, external fire escapes) Medical/Healthcare Cleaning:Medical facilitiesDental facilitiesSpecialist facilities (Stanford Hall) Domestic Assistance – Provision of cleaning service to entitled officers The list of all (cleaning) services delivered by third party contractors for Executive Agencies are as follows:OfficesMeeting RoomsAblutionsLaboratory / Production areas The Department does not hold information on how many people working for these contractors are paid rates recommended by the Living Wage Foundation. All of the employees of the above third-party contractors working in the Department or its Executive Agencies are required to be paid at a minimum, the national living wage or national minimum wage in accordance with statutory rights.

Ministry of Defence: Sikhs

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Sikhs are employed in his Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: As at 31 December 2018, the recorded number of personnel who had declared the Sikh faith under the category 'Religion' or 'Faith' is: Civilian Personnel 130 Regular/Reserve Military Personnel 270 In line with Departmental guidance the figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. Civilian data is based on all employees who are active, or on paid or unpaid leave of absence and employed in the MOD Main Top Level Budgets or Defence Equipment and Support as of 31 December 2018. UK Regulars comprises full-time personnel including Nursing Services, Full Time Reserve Service personnel, Gurkhas, Mobilised Reservists, Military Provost Guard Service, Locally Employed Personnel, British Army, Non Regular Permanent Staff, Approval Managers, Cadet Force Adult Volunteers, and Sponsored Reserves. Totals exclude Locally Engaged Civilians in overseas locations and Royal Fleet Auxiliary personnel for whom this data is not available. It is not mandatory for personnel to declare their ethnicity and religion, and figures should therefore not be considered definitive. Sikh is recorded as a religion not an ethnic group.

Ministry of Defence: Staff

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the corrected Answer of 22 January 2019 to Question 206251, how many civil servants in his Department were working part or full-time on projects in the Government Major Projects Portfolio in (a) June 2016 and (b) December 2018.

Stuart Andrew: The Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP) is a continually evolving portfolio of the government's most complex and high-risk projects. In June 2016, the Ministry of Defence was working on 33 projects which are part of the GMPP, and for December 2018 this figure was 35.There will have been a number of civil servants working on these projects, either directly or indirectly, at any one time. This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

USA: INF Treaty

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the US administration on the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty since the announcement by President Trump that the US intended to withdraw from that treaty.

Gavin Williamson: The UK maintains a close dialogue with the US at all levels on foreign and security policy questions, including the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. The Treaty has been consistently raised at the Ministerial level between myself and my US counterpart. Ministry of Defence officials have also engaged at all levels with the US and NATO Allies. We have made our position clear to Russia, and continue to support US and NATO action to bring Russia back to verifiable compliance.

USA: Nuclear Weapons

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has held discussions with his counterpart in the US administrations on the doomsday clock update published by Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

Gavin Williamson: I have held no discussions with my US counterpart on the 2019 doomsday clock statement. However, Her Majesty's Government has close and regular dialogue with the US Administration on all aspects of nuclear arms control and counter proliferation policy.

Department for Work and Pensions

Personal Independence Payment: Fibromyalgia

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many personal independence payment assessments where a claimant had a diagnosis of fibromyalgia resulted in no award; and how many of those claims were overturned at mandatory reconsideration or appeal.

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many personal independence payment assessments where a claimant had a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis resulted in no award; and how many of those claims were overturned at mandatory reconsideration or appeal.

Sarah Newton: The information requested is shown in the table below. Table 1: Number of PIP decisions for people who did not receive an award at the initial decision post assessment where the award was changed at mandatory reconsideration (MR) and where decisions were overturned at appeal for people with a primary disabling condition of Fibromyalgia or Multiple Sclerosis, April 2013 to September 2018       FibromyalgiaMultiple sclerosisInitial decisions96,32048,040Disallowed post-referral to the Assessment Provider due to failing the assessment29,5807,830of whom, the decision was changed at MR1,370550of whom, the decision was overturned at appeal3,030940 Since PIP was introduced 3.7m decisions have been made until September 2018, of these 10% have been appealed and 5% have been overturned. NotesPIP data includes normal rules and special rules for the terminally ill claimants, and is for both new claims and DLA reassessment claimsData has been rounded to the nearest 10.Appeals data taken from the DWP PIP computer system’s management information. Therefore this appeal data may differ from that held by Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service for various reasons such as delays in data recording and other methodological differences in collating and preparing statistics.Appeals data includes some cases where the initial decision was changed at MR.Decisions overturned at appeal may include a number of appeals that have been lapsed (which is where DWP changed the decision after an appeal was lodged but before it was heard at Tribunal)Some decisions which are changed at mandatory reconsideration, and where the claimant continues to appeal for a higher PIP award, are then changed again at tribunal appeal. Therefore the number of people who had a decision changed at mandatory reconsideration and the number of people who had a decision changed at tribunal appeal cannot be added together.Data is based on primary disabling condition as recorded on the PIP computer systems. Claimants may often have multiple disabling conditions upon which the decision is based but only the primary condition is shown in these statistics.Great Britain only.Claimants who have received benefit decisions more recently may not yet have had time to complete the claimant journey and progress to appeal.

Universal Credit

Ms Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether it is her policy that there will be transitional protection for claimants entitled to the severe disability premium of a legacy benefit who move on to universal credit from 16 January 2019; and if she will make a statement.

Ms Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister for Employment, 8 January, Official Report, column 174 on Universal Credit: Managed Migration, whether it is her policy that claimants who were previously in receipt of severe disability premium of legacy benefits but lost that premium when they made a claim for universal credit will be identified and have that premium reinstated.

Alok Sharma: We set out our position on transitional protection and transitional payments for claimants in a Written Statement HCWS1243 on 11 January 2019 and in the revised sets of regulations which were laid on 14 January 2019. Since 16 January 2019 claimants who are in receipt of the Severe Disability Premium (SDP) or who have been entitled to an award of an existing benefit that included SDP in the previous month, and who have continued to meet the SDP eligibility conditions, have been prevented from moving onto Universal Credit if they experience a change in circumstances. Instead, these claimants will continue to claim legacy benefits until DWP move them onto Universal Credit where transitional protection will be available, thereby safeguarding their existing benefit entitlement. The draft regulations also make provision so that eligible claimants who had previously been in receipt of Severe Disability Premium but who moved onto Universal Credit before 16 January 2019, following a change in their circumstances, will be considered for a ‘SDP transitional payment’. Eligible claimants will receive an on-going monthly payment and an additional lump-sum payment, where appropriate to cover the period since they moved onto Universal Credit. These regulations will be debated and voted on this year.

Severe Disability Premium

Ms Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many recipients of (a) employment support allowance, (b) job seeker's allowance and (c) income support received the severe disability premium on (i) 31 December 2016, (ii) 31 December 2017 and (iii) 31 December 2018.

Sarah Newton: Holding answer received on 28 January 2019



The number of recipients of Employment and Support Allowance receiving the severe disability premium is shown in the table below:  Recipients of ESA receiving SDP31 December 2016451,00031 December 2017512,000 The data for recipients of Employment and Support Allowance on 31 December 2018 has not previously been published and is due to be published later in 2019. The information required to answer your question with regards to Jobseekers Allowance and Income Support is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost - data on recipients of Jobseeker’s Allowance and Income Support receiving the severe disability premium is only readily available for the quarters ending November 2016, November 2017 and November 2018 and can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/people-on-income-related-esa-and-enhanced-or-severe-disability-premium-or-both

Universal Credit: Self-employed

Margaret Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 24 January 2019 to Question 210462, if she will take steps to publish information before Spring 2019 on the number of (a) self-employed and (b) self-employed people with a disability who are in receipt of universal credit.

Margaret Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many self-employed people the minimum income floor in universal credit has been applied to.

Alok Sharma: This data is currently going through quality assurance clearance procedures in line with the National Statistics and Official Statistics publication standard.

Universal Credit: Domestic Violence

Danielle Rowley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of automatic split payment of universal credit payments to prevent domestic abuse.

Justin Tomlinson: We believe that most couples can and want to manage their finances jointly without state intervention. However, we recognise that there are circumstances in which split payments are appropriate. Where this is the case, split payments are available on request. Both members of a couple do not need to be present to arrange a split payment and consent is not required from the other partner to authorise a split payment. Claimants can request a split payment during a face to face meeting, a phone call, or online via their journal and do not have to provide evidence of abuse in order to be granted a split payment.Not all individuals who are suffering domestic abuse will want a split payment and we work with claimants on an individual basis to provide support that fits with their individual circumstances. Work coaches receive training on domestic abuse and we provide all the support we can when an individual discloses they are suffering from domestic abuse, including signposting them to third party professionals who can provide additional expert advice and support.We continue to work closely with the Scottish Government to support the development and implementation of their split payment policy, and will observe the implementation of split payments in Scotland further to understand the impacts of such a policy.

Universal Credit: Telephone Services

Danielle Rowley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has issued guidance to universal credit helpline call handlers on promoting the use of the digital channel to claimants.

Alok Sharma: I refer the hon. Member to my answer to Question 206444 answered on 11 January 2019 and Question 207307 answered on 15 January 2019.

Universal Credit: Telephone Services

Danielle Rowley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has set a target for the reduction in the number of calls made to the universal credit helpline.

Danielle Rowley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what procedures she has put in place to incentivise call handlers at universal credit call centres to encourage claimants to use online accounts, and whether those procedures include targets.

Alok Sharma: The Department has not set any targets for the reduction in the number of calls made to the Universal Credit helpline. We have no procedures or targets to incentivise call handlers to encourage claimants to use online accounts.

Department for Work and Pensions: White Papers

Danielle Rowley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will place in the Library a copy of the Channel Optimisation paper published in November 2017.

Alok Sharma: The Channel Optimisation paper was an internal document and the Department has no plans to place a copy in the Commons Library.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Busking: Dogs

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural affairs, what his Department's policy is on individuals busking with dogs.

David Rutley: Defra does not have a policy specifically on individuals busking with dogs. All individuals are required to comply with relevant animal welfare legislations.

Bees

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether an assessment has been made by the National Bee Unit on the risks associated with queen bee inbreeding in commercial bee-keeping operations; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The National Bee Unit (NBU) has not assessed the risks associated with queen bee inbreeding in commercial bee-keeping operations. However, the NBU and Defra officials have regular contact with commercial beekeepers. These bee farmers have not raised queen inbreeding as an area of concern. Most beekeeping operations do allow wild mating so queens cross-breeding with drones from other local colonies does occur naturally. In commercial operations, queens displaying symptoms of inbreeding would be replaced for economic reasons.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Contracts

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which service providers are contracted to carry out third party cleaning contracts for his (a) Department and (b) executive agencies; if he will list all of the services delivered by third party contractors to his (i) Department and (ii) executive agencies; and how many people working for those third party contractors are paid less than the Living Wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.

George Eustice: The service providers contracted to carry out third party cleaning contracts for Defra managed buildings, including those of our executive agencies, are provided through an outsourced Total Facilities Management contract with Interserve FM. Interserve FM holds information on the rate of remuneration of its staff, however the contract requires Interserve FM to pay all employees the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation. The Living Wage Foundation rates can be found at the Living Wage Foundation website (https://www.livingwage.org.uk/). There is a rate for London based staff and a rate for staff based outside of London. The Total Facilities Management contract covers all building and ground maintenance, cleaning and security services for the Defra managed estate, therefore all third party contracts delivered under the contract are covered by the Living Wage Foundation commitment. A list of all services delivered by third party contractors and the associated wage information is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate costs.

Home Office

Fire Prevention: Prosecutions

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many prosecutions there have been in the last five years for failing to complete annual checks on fire dampers; and how many of those prosecutions have been successful.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office has responsibility for the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which requires that any facilities, equipment and devices provided to safeguard the safety of relevant persons, such as fire dampers, are subject to a suitable system of maintenance and are maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair.The Home Office holds data on the number of prosecutions leading to conviction related to a failure to comply with Article 17 of the FSO which covers maintenance generally. We do not hold any data specifically relating to fire dampers.

Fire Resistant Materials: Inspections

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has plans to increase the frequency of the requirement for fire dampers to be inspected from annually to six-monthly.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office has responsibility for the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which requires that any facilities, equipment and devices provided to safeguard the safety of relevant persons, such as fire dampers, are subject to a suitable system of maintenance and are maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair.The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 does not specify the frequency of testing for specific fire protection measures. The requirement for annual testing is set out in BS9999:2017 Fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings. This is a matter for the British Standards Institute.

Undocumented Migrants

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were classified as illegal entrants to the UK in each year since 2010.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office does not hold the information requested in a reportable format or within published statistics. The information could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

Police: EU Countries

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what alternative arrangements will replace (a) the Schengen Information System II, (b) the European Arrest Warrant, (c) the European Criminal Records Information System, (d) intelligence sharing through Europol, (e) Eurojust and (f) European Investigation Orders in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Mr Nick Hurd: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 28 January 2019 [203414].We are working with operational partners on a contingent basis to transition our cooperation with EU Member States to non-EU channels, should that be required in a no deal scenario. The alternative arrangements for the EU ‘tools’ in question would involve making more use of Interpol, Council of Europe Conventions and other forms of cooperation, such as bilateral channels.The Government’s position remains that the agreement reached with the EU, which includes ambitious internal security arrangements, is in the UK’s best interests.

Deportation: China

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether any administrative removal proceedings are currently being undertaken against Uighur Muslims residing in the UK whose country of origin is China.

Caroline Nokes: The information is not recorded in a reportable format. However, we understand and share your concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang, and the UK has a proud history of offering asylum to those who need our protection and every case is assessed on its individual merits.

Asylum: China

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether any asylum applications have been received from Uighur Muslims fleeing the human rights situation in Xinjiang.

Caroline Nokes: The basis of a person’s asylum claim is recorded on their individual Home Office file, but not in a way that can be easily aggregated, so we cannot provide figures on how many claims have been received from Uighur Muslims fleeing the human rights situation in Xinjiang.As such, this information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost because it would require a manual search through individual records.

Wales Office

Wales Office: Sikhs

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many Sikhs are employed in his Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) religious group.

Nigel Adams: The Office of the Secretary of State for Wales is not an employer in its own right. The Ministry of Justice are the employer of staff working in the Office. As at 31 December 2018, fewer than five staff had recorded themselves as Sikh as a religious group. To protect the identification of staff, an exact number cannot therefore be provided.

Scotland Office

Brexit: Scotland

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Trades Union Congress on the EU Withdrawal Agreement.

David Mundell: I have extended an invitation to the Scottish Trades Union Congress to discuss issues around EU Exit.

Scotland Office: Sikhs

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many Sikhs are employed in his Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) religious group.

David Mundell: The Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland does not employ staff directly. All staff that join do so on assignment, loan or secondment from other government bodies, principally the Ministry of Justice and the Scottish Government, who remain the employers.

Cabinet Office

Government: Databases

Jo Platt: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what measures are in place to reduce the possession of duplicated citizens data across Government.

Oliver Dowden: The government is committed to reducing the unnecessary duplication of data across the public sector. The General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act came into effect in the UK in 2018 and enshrines key principles of purpose limitation and data minimisation in the processing of personal data. The government will publish in due course a National Data Strategy which will set out specific measures to improve government's approach to the handling and use of data.

Census: Sikhs

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will include Sikhs in the next Race Disparity Audit.

Chloe Smith: The Race Disparity Audit is an ongoing and permanent programme of work. The data collated by the Audit from Government Departments and published on the Ethnicity Facts and Figures website, is on the basis of ethnicity. In data currently collected by Government departments the ‘Sikh’ category is listed under the ‘religion’ classification. The Sikh category is not currently classified in the data as an ethnic group.

Cabinet Office: Sikhs

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Sikhs the Prime Minister's office employs; and whether they are recorded as members of an (a) ethnic or (b) religious group.

Chloe Smith: At the 31st December 2018, 43 civil servants in my Department were recorded as being Sikhs, as a religious group. The Prime Minister's Office is included in this reply.

Census: Ethnic Groups

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effect on the quality of information provided by having a write-in option compared to a tick box option for ethnicity in the Census in terms of public bodies monitoring ethnic groups.

Chloe Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response
(PDF Document, 233.43 KB)

Cabinet Office: Contracts

Frank Field: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which service providers are contracted to carry out third party cleaning contracts for his (a) Department and (b) executive agencies; if he will list all of the services delivered by third party contractors to his (i) Department and (ii) executive agencies; and how many people working for those third party contractors are paid less than the Living Wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.

Oliver Dowden: The Cabinet Office contracts its third party cleaning to Interserve FM ltd Under a Total Facilities Management Contract (TFM) the service provider Interserve FM ltd are required to deliver Hard (mechanical & electrical, building fabric) and Soft (cleaning, catering, security, postroom, pest control) services to the Cabinet Office. Interserve FM ltd are contractually required to pay their employees a Living Wage. The Living Wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation suggests a higher minimum wage - 89 people employed by Interserve FM ltd on this contract are paid less than this.

Knowledge Economy: Employment

Royston Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of the work force in each (a) region and (b) local authority area is employed in the knowledge economy.

Chloe Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply and their response will be placed in the Library.



UKSA Response
(PDF Document, 143.96 KB)

Cabinet Office: Sikhs

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Sikhs are employed in his Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group.

Chloe Smith: At the 31st December 2018, 43 civil servants in my Department were recorded as being Sikhs, as a religious group. The Prime Minister's Office is included in this reply.

Cybercrime: Ministerial Responsibility

Jo Platt: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 24 January 2019 to Question 210691 on Cybercrime, if he will publish a list of the Ministers with responsibility for cybercime and what the responsibilities are of each Minister.

Mr David Lidington: I am accountable to Parliament for the National Cyber Security Strategy and the accompanying investment programme. I am also the lead Minister for the cyber resilience of the government sector. The Home Secretary leads on cyber security response, in addition to his responsibility to counter cyber crime. The Defence Secretary has overall responsibility for the development of the UK’s offensive cyber capability. The Foreign Secretary has statutory responsibility for the National Cyber Security Centre, as a part of GCHQ. The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport leads on digital matters, including the relevant growth, innovation and skills aspects of cyber security. These responsibilities are brought together under the National Security Council Strategic Defence and Security Review sub-committee (NSC SDSR) chaired by the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Public Sector: Computer Software

Jo Platt: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 24 January 2019 to Question 210692 on Public Sector: Computer Software, on what dates the Government Digital Service issued cross-Government advice in relation to the conclusion of Windows 7 support in 2020.

Oliver Dowden: Individual technology choices and volumes purchased rest with individual departments. As such, GDS does not provide guidance to departments on specific operating systems, such as Windows 7. Microsoft provides guidance for its operating systems should departments need specific information.

Treasury

UK Shared Prosperity Fund

Nic Dakin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will commit to ensuring that the annual budget for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund is no less, in real terms, than the EU and UK funding streams it replaces.

Elizabeth Truss: The government has committed to establish the UK Shared Prosperity Fund after we have left the European Union and EU Structural Funds. As the Secretary of State for Housing set out in a written statement on 24 July 2018, details of the operation and priorities of the Fund will be announced following the Spending Review.

Treasury: Contracts

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which service providers are contracted to carry out third party cleaning contracts for his (a) Department and (b) its executive agencies; if he will list all of the services delivered by third party contractors to his (i) Department and (ii) its executive agencies; and how many people working for those third party contractors are paid less than the Living Wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.

Robert Jenrick: Building and facilities services for HM Treasury at 1 Horse Guards Road are provided by Exchequer Partnerships through a PFI agreement. Exchequer Partnerships sub-contract the cleaning service to OCS. All OCS contracted cleaning staff are paid in line with National Living Wage requirements. Cleaning services provided by OCS include:Office space/operational space/recreational spaceToilets/ShowersWindow cleaningCleaning services at the UK Debt Management Office in Eastcheap Court are provided by Envirotec Integrated Services Ltd (EIS). All their contracted cleaning staff are paid in line with National Living Wage requirements. Cleaning services provided by EIS include:Office space/operational space/recreational spaceToilets/shower roomInternal window cleaningBuildings and facilities services, including cleaning, at both the National Infrastructure Commission and the UK Government Internal Audit Agency are covered under the terms of their lease agreements. Neither agency is party to the sub contracts that their landlords have in place for the provision of these services.

Apprentices: Taxation

Royston Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much the apprenticeship levy has been raised since its introduction.

Mel Stride: Receipts data for the Apprenticeship Levy is published online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk As of December 2018, a total of £4.3bn of levy receipts had been collected.

Cider: Excise Duties

Chris Green: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has plans to increase the small producer's relief scheme for small cider producers from 7,000 to 30,000 litres per annum.

Robert Jenrick: HM Treasury has no plans to increase the exemption from cider duty to cider producers over 7,000 litres. The exemption aims to remove small scale, non-commercial cider production from the duty system and we consider that a limit of 7,000 litres remains appropriate for this.

Beer: Excise Duties

Chris Green: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a preferential rate of duty for draught beer.

Robert Jenrick: HM Treasury keeps all taxes under review whilst preparing for fiscal events. A preferential rate of duty for draught beer would result in significant pressure on the public finances, entailing cuts in funding for public services or increased borrowing. We continue to support the beer industry, as can be seen through our action to freeze beer duty at Autumn Budget 2018, for the second successive year. This freeze has meant the typical pint of beer in 2019 will be 2p lower than it would have been had duty increased with inflation.

Public Houses: Non-domestic Rates

Chris Green: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will undertake a review into the effect of business rates on traditional pubs compared with new small bars.

Mel Stride: Pubs and licensed premises are valued for business rates by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) using ‘Fair Maintainable Trade’, a widely-established method. The VOA’s valuation guide has been agreed with the pubs sector. Pubs and bars will benefit from the business rates discount of one third for small retailers from April 2019. This is part of our £1.5bn support package for the high street that was announced at Budget 2018. All ratepayers are benefitting from recent rates cuts worth more than £13bn in total over the next five years. They include switching from RPI to CPI indexation, making Small Business Rate Relief more generous so that 655,000 of the smallest businesses pay no rates, and providing a £1,000 relief for small and medium pubs in 2017-18 and 2018-19. Budget 2018 also announced a freeze on beer duty, making a typical pint 2p lower than it would otherwise have been.

VAT: Fraud

Peter Dowd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff in HMRC work on tackling VAT fraud.

Mel Stride: There are currently around 24,000 people working in HMRC tackling all forms of non-compliance in the tax system, ranging from individuals operating in the hidden economy, through to detailed investigation of offshore structures and scrutinising the tax affairs of the largest multi-national companies. This flexible resource gives HMRC the capability to effectively tackle the compliance risks of the evolving changing landscape. HMRC officers are a flexible resource and may work on a number of cases involving several different customer groups’ behaviours and risks at any one time to meet individual business needs, and so it is not possible to say how many staff work solely on VAT fraud.

VAT

Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the full list of the goods and services subject to the five per cent VAT rate; and how much revenue has been raised to the Exchequer from each of those goods and services in each of the last five years.

Mel Stride: The full list of the goods and services subject to the five percent VAT rate are provided in Schedule 7A Part 1 of the Value Added Tax Act 1994. Additionally, the list can also be viewed online in the GOV.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rates-of-vat-on-different-goods-and-services. The information on revenue impacts is not available for all items on this list, because information at this level of detail is not requested on the VAT return. HMRC publishes estimates, using other data sources, of the cost to the Exchequer of some of the main categories of supplies subject to the reduced rate of 5%, which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/main-tax-expenditures-and-structural-reliefs and at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/minor-tax-expenditures-and-structural-reliefs .

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Broadband: Scotland

Kirstene Hair: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what progress has he made on the Local Full Fibre Networks Programme in rural locations throughout Scotland.

Margot James: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 29 January 2019.The correct answer should have been:

The Local Full Fibre Networks (LFFN) Programme has the following Scottish projects and potential projects: LFFN Wave 2 Challenge FundHighland Council are planning to use the SWAN Framework to implement a gigabit fibre network to 152 public buildings in Inverness, Fort William, Thurso and Wick - awarded £4.3m BDUK Funding. This project is in preparation stage for the 'Ready to Procure' Assurance Gate. LFFN Wave 3 Challenge FundShetland Council have successfully passed the LFFN Investment Panel stage and are working on the final Business case to go through Assurance Gate A and if approved will be issued with a letter of offer for £2m BDUK FundingTay Cities combined authority are in the dialogue stage regarding a potential LFFN project in their area.Renfrewshire Council are at the pre-dialogue stage regarding a potential LFFN project in their area Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme To the end of September 2018 across Scotland, there have been 87 gigabit vouchers connected (value £243,953). A report up to the end of December 2018 will be released early in February

Margot James: The Local Full Fibre Networks (LFFN) Programme has the following Scottish projects and potential projects: LFFN Wave 2 Challenge FundHighland Council are planning to use the SWAN Framework to implement a gigabit fibre network to 152 public buildings in Inverness, Fort William, Thurso and Wick - awarded £4.3m BDUK Funding. This project is in preparation stage for the 'Ready to Procure' Assurance Gate. LFFN Wave 3 Challenge FundShetland Council have successfully passed the LFFN Investment Panel stage and are working on the final Business case to go through Assurance Gate A and if approved will be issued with a letter of offer for £2m BDUK FundingTay Cities combined authority are in the dialogue stage regarding a potential LFFN project in their area.Renfrewshire Council are at the pre-dialogue stage regarding a potential LFFN project in their area Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme To the end of September 2018 across Scotland, there have been 87 gigabit vouchers connected (value £243,953). A report up to the end of December 2018 will be released early in February

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Sikhs

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many Sikhs are employed in his Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) religious group.

Margot James: At the 31st December 2018, fewer than 10 civil servants in my Department were recorded as being Sikhs, as a religious group. The Department encourages all of its employees to provide details of their personal diversity information. This action is voluntary and information is captured via employee input onto the HR system. The department’s declaration rate for religion is 67%.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Contracts

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which service providers are contracted to carry out third party cleaning contracts for his (a) Department and (b) executive agencies; if he will list all of the services delivered by third party contractors to his (i) Department and (ii) executive agencies; and how many people working for those third party contractors are paid less than the Living Wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.

Margot James: All sites from which DCMS operate have Facilities Management services, including cleaning provision, delivered by other government departments. As such, DCMS is not party to any contract for the provision of cleaning services and would therefore be unable to provide information. DCMS does not have any executive agencies.

Cybercrime: EU Action

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to sections 4 and 5 of the Network and Information Systems Regulations 2018, what assurances he has received that GCHQ will be able to (a) continue to liaise and (b) cooperate with the EU Cyber Coordination Group in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Margot James: The Political Declaration between the United Kingdom and the European Union reaffirms the commitment of both parties to a dialogue around cyber security including the exchange of information on a range of threats, incidents, techniques and best practice. Regarding the Network and Information Systems Regulations 2018, the Government aims to continue to participate in certain Cooperation Group activities after we leave the EU.

Lotteries

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the benefits to charities of the prize limit on society lotteries (a) increasing and (b) increasing to £1 million.

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential benefit to good causes of regulatory reforms to society lotteries.

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what representations he has received opposing (a) reforms to society lotteries and (b) proposals to raise the maximum prize limit to £1 million.

Mims Davies: The De Minimis Assessment which accompanied the society lotteries reform consultation outlined the assessments made of the benefits to good causes of the proposals to increase sales and prize limits, including increasing the per draw prize limit to £1 million (link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/720931/society_lottery_dma_pdf_final.pdf). The assessment shows that increasing these limits in line with the Government’s preferred options is likely to increase the amount of money charities and others can raise for the good causes they support. We are not in a position to quantify this at present, as we do not know how many large society lotteries will increase their sales and prize limits, or change their business models to account for the changes being proposed. I am currently considering the views expressed in the consultation, from meeting with stakeholders and members, including those in favour and those against these reforms, and I hope to respond in the first half of the year. I am happy to have further meetings with the Rt Hon Member and others before our response is published.

House of Commons Commission

House of Commons: Governing Bodies

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many House of Commons bodies include lay members.

Tom Brake: I take the hon. Gentleman’s question to be referring to bodies whose membership includes Members of the House. On this understanding, the following bodies have lay members:Committee on StandardsAdministration Estimate Audit and Risk Assurance CommitteeMembers Estimate Audit CommitteeFire Safety CommitteeThere are also two statutory bodies whose secretariats are based in the House of Commons and whose membership includes Members and non-Members:House of Commons CommissionSpeaker’s Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards AuthorityThere are also two bicameral bodies whose membership includes Members and non-Members:The Shadow Sponsor Board responsible for commissioning the Restoration and Renewal ProgrammeParliamentary Office of Science and Technology Board

Parliamentary Estate: Access

Justin Madders: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, what discussions the Commission has had with the Metropolitan Police on the closure of the Bridge street subway exit at Westminster tube station.

Tom Brake: The Commission has had no discussions with the Metropolitan Police about the closure.Exit three from Westminster tube station has been closed until 2021 to ensure that works to conserve the Elizabeth Tower can continue safely.This decision was taken by Parliament’s Strategic Estates Team and the appointed contractor, in close consultation with Transport for London, the Metropolitan Police and Westminster City Council. The Parliamentary Security Directorate were also consulted.Hoardings have been erected to direct members of the public, which will remain in place throughout the duration of the project.The closure is an additional safety measure for members of the public given the proximity of that exit to the base of the Elizabeth Tower.

Members: Official Hospitality

Dr David Drew: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, how much money is now owed by (a) hon. Members and (b) former hon Members for unpaid catering and hospitality bills at the House of Commons (i) in total, and (ii) as a proportion of the turnover of catering and hospitality in the House of Commons; and what steps the Commission is taking to ensure the collection of those debts.

Tom Brake: Holding answer received on 17 January 2019



The House of Commons has a debt management process regarding the recovery of monies owed by all parties. In relation to Members’ catering accounts, all sums due are expected to be settled within six weeks. Statements are sent out monthly and undisputed amounts owed are charged ten days later to the Members nominated card. Any amounts outstanding after the settlement date are followed up by emails, letters and telephone calls.As shown in table 1, a total sum of £440 currently outstanding against catering and banqueting accounts is related to Member expenditure. There are no amounts outstanding in relation to former Members. Amount outstanding relating to MembersAmount outstanding relating to former MembersFY 2018/19 Budget £% of budget£% of budget Banqueting-0%-0%£6,502,522Catering£4400.009%-0%£4,668,756Total£4400.004%-0%£11,171,278Table 2 sets out the outstanding amounts owed to the House, broken into Member and non-member categories, where non-members consist of trade and internal customers.  Outstanding – Trade and internal customersOutstanding - MembersFY 2018/19 Budget £% of budget£% of budget Banqueting£278,8154.29%-0%£6,502,522Catering£7,2330.15%£4400.009%£4,668,756Total£286,0482.56%£4400.004%£11,171,278

Northern Ireland Office

Public Sector Debt: Northern Ireland

Sir Edward Leigh: What plans her Department has to enable Northern Ireland to reduce its public sector fiscal deficit.

Karen Bradley: Thanks to the UK Government’s responsible stewardship of the economy the country’s public finances are in a much stronger position since 2010. This means we have more money to invest in Northern Ireland’s future – including £320 million funding for Northern Ireland announced by the Chancellor in Budget. We are working closely with the Northern Ireland departments to ensure sustainable finances in Northern Ireland and to help rebalance the Northern Ireland economy. This work is paying off, with private sector jobs growing from 63% in 1992 to 73% in 2018, and are now at an all-time high.

Vocational Guidance: Northern Ireland

Mr Laurence Robertson: What steps she is taking to increase the number of career opportunities for young people in Northern Ireland.

Karen Bradley: This Government is committed to increasing opportunities for all, and ensuring every young person in Northern Ireland is able to fulfill their potential. Our Industrial Strategy is helping provide employment opportunities for young people by supporting businesses to thrive and grow. Overall employment in Northern Ireland is at a record high and youth unemployment has dropped by over 10% since 2015.

*No heading*

Mrs Sheryll Murray: What progress has been made on the consultation on addressing the legacy of Northern Ireland's past.

Karen Bradley: The public consultation was launched on 11 May and ran for 21 weeks. The Government engaged with a wide range of stakeholders, victims’ and survivors’ groups, political parties, community groups and others, and attended over 30 events to promote it. We are carefully considering all the views received from over 17,000 responses and will provide an update in due course.